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UNIVERSITY 


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I 


NORTH  CAROLINA  GEOLOGICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY 


JOSEPH  HYDE  PRATT,  State  Geologist 


ECONOMIC  PAPER  No.  33 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA  DURING  1912 


NATIONAL  AND  ASSOCIATION  COOPERATIVE  FIRE  CONTROL 


J.  S.  HOLMES,  Forester 


RALEIGH 

E.  M.  UZZELL  & CO..  STATE  PRINTERS  AND  BINDERS 


1913 


GEOLOGICAL  BOARD. 


Governor  Locke  Craig,  ex  officio  Chairman , Raleigh. 

Frank  R.  Hewitt Asheville. 

Hugh  MacRae  Wilmington. 

Henry  E.  Fries Winston-Salem. 

W.  H.  Williamson Raleigh. 


Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist 


Chapel  Hill. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


Chapel  Hill,  U.  C.,  July  1,  1913. 

To  His  Excellency , Honorable  Locke  Craig, 

Governor  of  North  Carolina. 

Sir: — I herewith  submit  for  publication,  as  Economic  Paper  Ho.  33 
of  the  reports  of  the  Horth  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey, 
a report  on  Forest  Fires  in  North  Carolina  Daring  1912,  which  also  con- 
tains some  information  in  regard  to  national  and  Association  Cooper- 
ative Eire  Control,  this  having  been  prepared  by  Mr.  J.  S.  Holmes, 
Forester  to  the  Survey.  These  statistics  are  collected  and  additional 
data  with  regard  to  forest  fire  control  by  Federal  aid  and  through  the 
work  of  associations  is  published,  with  the  idea  of  helping  our  authori- 
ties to  frame  some  adequate  laws  to  meet  the  conditions  as  they  now 
exist  in  Horth  Carolina.  Yours  respectfully, 

Joseph  Hyde  Pratt, 

State  Geologist. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Forest  Fires  in  North  Carolina  during  1912 7 

Introduction 7 

The  Weather 8 

Relative  Fire  Risk  in  1912  and  1911  (Table  1) 8 

Tabular  Statement  of  Forest  Fires 9 

Summary  of  Reports  by  Regions,  Comparative  Statement  (Table  2)_  10 

Summary  of  Reports  by  Counties 11 

Mountain  Region  (Table  3) j 11 

Piedmont  Region  (Table  4) 12 

Coastal  Plain  (Table  5) 14 

Comparative  Statement  of  Averages  by  Regions,  1909-1912  (Table  6).  16 

Causes  of  Forest  Fires 16 

Causes  of  Forest  Fires  in  the  Different  Regions  (Table  7) 17 

A New  Law  Against  Hunters  Setting  Out  Fires 18 

Conclusions 19 

Federal  Forest  Protection  in  the  United  States : 20 

Fire  Protection  on  the  National  Forests ' 21 

Causes  of  Fires 22 

Prevention  of  Railroad  Firas 22 

Warning  Notices 23 

The  National  Forest  Force 23 

Lookout  Points 24 

Trails  and  Telephones 24 

National  Forest  Fire  Laws 25 

The  Fires  of  1911  on  National  Forests 26 

Progress  in  Protection 26 

Rural  Mail  Carriers  to  Report  Forest  Fires 28 

How  the  States  Are  Helped 29 

Assist  in  Posting  Warnings 30 

Federal  .Cooperation  with  States  Under  the  Weeks  Law 31 

Administration  by  the  Forest  Service 31 

Results  Accomplished _■ 33 

Extending  Cooperative  Protection 33 

How  the  States  Are  Benefited  by  the  Weeks  Law 34 

New  Hampshire 34 

Oregon 35 

Maryland 37 

Minnesota : 38 

New  Jersey 39 

Wisconsin 41 

Timberland  Owners’  Protective  Associations 43 

County  Fire  Patrol  Associations  in  Oregon 44 

Idaho  Timber  Protective  Associations 45 


6 


CONTENTS. 


Timberland  Owners’  Protective  Associations— Continued.  page 

Protection  in  Montana 46 

New  Hampshire  Timberland  Owners’  Protective  Association 47 

Lumber  Manufacturers’  Association  Takes  Up  Actual  Protection 47 

Cooperation  with  Railroads 48 

Patrol  and  Protection  of  Right  of  Way  by  Railroads 49 

Use  of  Spark  Arresters  by  Railroads 50 

Conclusion 52 

Appendix: 

Spark  Arresters  on  Railroad  Locomotives,  by  R.  C.  Havjley 57 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  GAROLINA  DURING  1912 


By  J.  S.  HOLMES,  Forester. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Statistics  on  tlie  annual  damage  and  extent  of  forest  fires  through- 
out the  State,  such  as  have  been  gathered  and  published  by  the  North 
Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey  for  the  past  four  years,  are 
calculated  to  serve  two  very  important  purposes.  First  of  all,  the 
gathering  of  the  information  stimulates  a desire  to  know  more  about 
this  subject  and  to  help  correct  the  evil,  while  the  publication  of  the 
figures  imparts  to  the  general  public  a knowledge  of  conditions  as  they 
are,  which  leads,  sometimes  very  greatly,  towards  the  bettering  of  con- 
ditions in  the  prevention  of  the  fires.  In  the  second  place,  such  knowl- 
edge as  is  gained  is  of  great  value  in  furnishing  a basis  of  known  facts 
from  which  the  legislator  and  other  State  officers  can  intelligently 
build  up  the  most  efficient  laws  for  the  protection  of  the  forests  and 
an  administration  that  can  most  effectively  put  such  laws  into  force. 
With  a record  extending  over  several  years  covering  the  causes  of  forest 
fires  in  the  different  parts  of  the  State,  the  principal  months  in  which 
such  fires  commonly  occur,  the  average  size  of  fires  and  the  damage 
done  by  them,  the  weakness  of  our  present  laws  are  clearly  brought  to 
light,  and  changes  and  improvements  in  them  readily  suggest  them- 
selves. 

The  figures  in  the  following  tables  have  been  gathered  in  the  same 
way  as  those  which  have  been  previously  published,  as  follows:  Forest 
Fires  During  1909,  Economic  Paper  19;  Forest  Fires  During  1910 , 
Economic  Paper  22;  Forest  Fires  During  1911,  Economic  Paper  25. 

The  general  method  is  about  as  follows : A list  of  questions,  accom- 
panied by  a form  letter,  is  sent  out  to  voluntary  correspondents  all 
over  the  State.  It  is  the  object  to  have  at  least  two  correspondents  in 
each  township  in  the  State.  This  has,  unfortunately,  not  been  accom- 
plished, though  a larger  proportion  of  the  townships  of  the  State  have 
this  year  been  reported  for  than  in  former  years.  This  is  largely  in 
response  to  a request  that  each  correspondent  send  in  the  names  of  per- 
sons who  might  be  willing  to  furnish  such  information  in  adjoining 
townships.  The  tables  show  that  in  spite  of  this,  less  than  one-half 
of  the  townships  of  the  State  have  been  reported  for.  It  therefore  can 
be  seen  that  the  figures  given  are  not  accurate  totals,  though  they  con- 
vey as  fair  an  idea  as  possible  of  the  conditions  now  general  through- 
out the  State. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


A new  item  of  damage  which  was  not  included  in  the  reports  for 
1909  and  1910,  which,  though  introduced  last  year,  then  made  a show 
of  relatively  small  importance,  has  in  the  figures  for  this  year  assumed 
very  large  proportions,  and  that  is  the  damage  to  young  growth.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  the  less  frequent  fires  are,  the  more  the  young 
growth  will  be  damaged,  because  there  is  more  of  it  to  he  injured. 
This,  however,  is  not  an  argument  against  protection,  as  some  people 
have  contended.  If,  by  protecting  an  area  one  can  raise  a crop  of 
young  growth  worth  $10  an  acre  in  twenty  years,  as  many  people  have 
done,  that  is  surely  a very  strong  argument  for  keeping  out  fire.  If 
at  the  end  of  that  time  this  young  growth  is  all  destroyed  by  fire,  the 
owner  is  no  worse  off  than  had  his  land  been  burned  over  every  few 
years,  each  time  destroying  all  the  young  growth  or  preventing  the 
growth  of  reproduction,  while,  if  he  saves  it  from  fire,  his  property 
is  worth  at  least  double  what  it  would  be  if  it  had  been  unprotected. 

THE  WEATHER. 

A comparative  study  of  the  annual  summary  of  the  United  States 
Weather  Bureau  for  Uorth  Carolina  for  1912  and  the  following  tables 
bring  out  the  point  that  variations  in  the  seriousness  and  extent  of 
fires  cannot  always  he  traced  directly  to  the  weather.  In  fact,  it  is 
hard  to  discover  much  direct  connection  between  the  drought  periods 
and  the  periods  of  the  worst  fires  in  1912. 


Table  1.— RELATIVE  FIRE  RISK  IN  1912  AND  1911  BY  MONTHS  AND  SEASONS, 
IN  PERCENTAGES. 


Though  the  rainfall  for  the  year  was  slightly  below  normal,  the 
showers  and  storms  were  as  a rule  so  well  distributed  that  the  season 
was  far  from  being  abnormal.  This  was  especially  true  throughout  the 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


9 


dry  summer  season,  when  iu  many  places  tlie  rainfall  was  not  mucli 
over  half  the  usual  amount.  The  United  States  Weather  Bureau  in 
its  annual  summary  says  : 

“The  local  rains  of  the  dry  summer  period  were  generally  sufficient  for  sur- 
face requirements.  July  was  marked  by  a deficiency  in  rainfall  for  the  central 
and  eastern  districts.  During  August  the  rainfall  was  very  light,  but  well 
distributed.  All  rivers  were  decidedly  below  normal  stages. 

“Precipitation  through  September  continued  light  until  the  third  week,  when 
general  rains  broke  the  drought  conditions  that  had  prevailed  since  July.” 

In  spite  of  this  long  drought,  there  were  very  few  forest  fires  at  this 
season,  owing,  as  was  before  said,  to  the  well  distributed  showers  and 
to  the  large  amount  of  green  vegetable  matter  in  the  woods,  which,  as 
a rule,  prevents  serious  fires  at  this  time  of  the  year. 

The  largest  and  most  destructive  fires  for  the  year  occurred  in  the 
mountains  during  ^November,  a month  in  which  the  precipitation  for 
the  whole  State  was  about  normal.  There  was,  however,  a short  hut 
severe  dry  spell  in  the  western  part  of  the  State  during  the  latter  part 
of  this  month,  when  the  most  appalling  loss  of  timber  and  other  prop- 
erty took  place  within  a very  short  time.  The  comparative  figures  for 
the  mountain  counties  show  that,  on  the  one  hand,  the  number  of  fires 
reported  was  even  below  normal;  Avhile,  on  the  other  hand,  the  area 
burned  over,  the  amount  and  value  of  timber,  young  growth,  and  other 
property  destroyed,  was  several  times  as  great  as  the  average  for  the 
past  three  years. 

TABULAR  STATEMENT  OF  FOREST  FIRES  IN  1912. 

The  following  tables  represent  replies  from  all  hut  five  counties  of  the 
State,  though  only  443  townships  out  of  a total  of  980  were  reported 
for.  The  figures,  therefore,  though  decidedly  more  representative  than 
those  previously  published,  are  far  from  complete,  and  are  given  not 
for  their  absolute  accuracy,  but  as  an  indication  of  the  great  loss  we 
are  experiencing  every  year.*  It  must  he  remembered  that  the  537  ~ 
townships  not  reporting  are  many  of  them  townships  in  which  fires 
rarely  occur.  It  would  not,  therefore,  be  fair  to  argue  that  the  980 
townships  lost  twice  as  much  as  here  reported,  or  $2,000,000  worth  of 
property.  It  might,  however,  he  safe  to  add  from  25  to  50  per  cent  to 
this  total  loss  to  make  it  apply  to  the  whole  State. 

* Any  reader  who  is  interested  in  forest  protection  can  assist  in  making  future  reports  more  com- 
plete, and  thereby  molding  public  opinion  in  favor  of  fire  prevention,  by  acting  as  voluntary  cor- 
respondent. Write  at  once  to  the  Forester,  Chapel  Hill,  X.  C.,  and  the  list  of  questions  will  be  sent 
you  at  the  end  of  the  year. 


2 


10 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Table  2.— FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA  DURING  1912.  COMPARATIVE  STATE- 
MENT. SUMMARY  OF  REPORTS  FROM  CORRESPONDENTS  BY  REGIONS  FOR  1912. 
WITH  AVERAGES  FOR  1911,  1910,  AND  1909. 


Mountain. 

Piedmont. 

Coastal  Plain.  State. 

1912. 

1911, 

1910, 

1909. 

1912. 

1911, 

1910, 

1909. 

1912. 

1911,  1911, 
1910,  1912.  1910, 
1909.  1909. 

Total  number  of  townships  in 

region 

166 

166 

450 

450 

364 

361  980  980 

Number  of  townships  reporting. __ 

79 

_ 

00 

230 

154 

134 

121  443!  330 

Number  of  replies  received 

100 

55 

308 

128 

146 

100  554  2S3 

Number  of  forest  fires  reported 

145 

191 

319 

198 

201 

261  665  650 

Total  area  burnt  over,  in  acres 

3S2.609 

96,074 

100,017 

97,347 

133,425 

18S.535  616,051  3S1.956 

Total  standing  timber  destroyed, 

in  M feet,  board  measure 

79,613 

11,626 

3,568 

9,359 

9,645 

25,0S3  92,826  46,06$ 

Value  of  timber  destroyed,  in 

dollars 

$178,460 

$ 36,352 

.?  27,520 

$ 27,434 

$ 33,097 

$ 66,658  $ 239.077  $130,444 

Area  of  young  growth  destroyed, 

in  acres 

165,518 

9,181 

19,011 

2S , 963 

35.72S 

48,658  220,257  86,802 

Value  of  young  growth  destroyed, 

in  dollars 

$230,900$  12,380 

$ 58,129 

$ 20,325 

$ 70,365 

$ 78,250  $ 359,394  $110,955 

Value  of  forest  products  destroyed, 

$223,475 

S 29,990 

8 84,675 

$ 60,295 

$100,920 

$ 83,341  $ 409,070  $173,626 

Value  of  improvements  destroyed, 

$ 18,770 

$ 36,4S0 

$ IS , S20 

8 14,925 

8 30,704  8 64,635  8 6s, 312 

Total  damage  reported,  in  dollars. 

$651,981 

S 97,500 

$212,911 

$126,883 

8224, S92 

$258,932  $1,089,784  $4S3,335 

2 

2 2 2 

Cost,  to  private  individuals  to 

fight  fire 

$ 5,916 

$ 7,257 

S 6,107 

$ 4,630 

8 5 , 585 

$ S,30S  $ 17,608  $ 20,195 

Table  3.— FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA  DURING  1912.  SUMMARY  OF  REPORTS  FROM  CORRESPONDENTS  BY  COUNTIES. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  11 


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JO  JSOQ 

<y 

370 

250 

650 

400 

375 

25 

141 

575 

145 

50 

720 

1,650 

10 

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VO 

■^soq  S0Airj 

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1 1 1 1 1 1 1 l l l 1 1 l l 
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l l l i i i i i l l i i i i 

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150 

170 

3,700 

200 

100 

700 

5,500 

600 

50 

1,660 

13,230 

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3,700 

95 

44,200 

25,300 

200 

5,000 

12,750 

0,030 

10,000 

28,000 

75.000 

13.000 

223,475 

•paAojjsaQ 
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Sunoj^  jo 

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7,500 

10,000 

41,030 

120,000 

2,200 

25 

5,000 

13,450 

5,720 

800 

7,200 

15,500 

25 

2,150 

230,900 

•saioy 

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T^AiO-IQ 

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3,350 

10,000 

17,515 

60,000 

300 

15 

3,000 

14,150 

3,200 

225 

21,500 

31,025 

8 

1,020 

OO 

o 

VO 

•pa.ConsaQ  jaq 
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(A 

525 

250 

1,550 

1,575 

4,300 

3,000 

100 

200 

425 

300 

9,340 

1,800 

30,000 

124,000 

35 

1,060 

•<*" 

CO 

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1,050 

551 

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100 

3,108 

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10,015 

62,000 

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330 

50 

9,100 

30.000 
59,069 

70.000 
7,050 

75 

18,200 

31.000 
7,700 
1,200 

112,000 

35.000 
15 

1,820 

382,609 

■S0jix 

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Averv - 

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Cherokee 

Clay - 

Graham 

Haywood 

Henderson 

Jackson 

Macon 

Madison 

Mitchell 

Swain 

Transylvania 

Watauga..  - 

Yancey 

Totals 

12 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


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FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA, 


13 


Table  5— FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA  DURING  1912.  SUMMARY  OF  REPORTS  FROM  CORRESPONDENTS  BY  COUNTIES. 


14 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


'S-IU  SniiqSiJ 

JO  JSOQ 

o o 

O lO 

o 

&> 

100 

2,500 

o 

»o 

o 

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50 

10 

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8,000 

27,500 

25,000 

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10,000 

400 

50 

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2,800 

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8,100 

5,600 

3,000 

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2,500 

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550 

500 

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009 

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2,000 

800 

200 

8,725 

51.000 

10.000 
2,000 

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3,020 

276 

5,200 

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jo  ’jequm^ 

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ui  sdiqsuAiox  jo 
jeqiun^;  pjox 

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County. 

Beaufort 

Bertie 

Bladen 

Brunswick. 

Camden 

Carteret 

Chowan 

Columbus 

Craven 

Cumberland. 

Currituck 

Dare 

Duplin 

Edgecombe 

Gates 

Greene 

Halifax. 

Harnett 

Hertford 

16 


FOREST  FIRES  IX  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Table  6.— FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA  DURING  1912.  COMPARATIVE  STATE- 
MENT OF  AVERAGES  BY  REGIONS  FOR  1912,  AND  1911,  1910,  1909. 


Mountain. 

Piedmont. 

Coastal  Plain. 

State. 

1912. 

1911, 

1910, 

1909. 

1912. 

1911, 

1910, 

1909. 

1912. 

1911, 

1910, 

1909. 

1912. 

1911, 

1910, 

1909. 

Percentage  of  townships  reporting.. . 

48 

33 

51 

34 

37 

33 

45 

33.5 

Average  area  of  each  fire,  in  acres — 

2,638 

502 

314 

491 

663 

722 

926 

58S 

Average  damage  by  each  fire,  in 

dollars..  - --  

84,496 

$ 510 

$ 667 

S 642 

81,119 

.$  992 

$1,639 

8 744 

Average  area  burnt  over  per  town- 

ship  reporting,  in  acres 

4,843 

*1 , 108 

435 

*623 

996 

*1,755 

1,391 

*1,121 

Average  damage  per  acre  burnt,  in 

dollars 

$ 1.01 

S 2.13 

$ 1.31 

S 1.69 

8 1.37 

8 1.76 

$ 1.26 

*For  1911  and  1910  only.  No  township  figures  for  1909. 


It  is  seen  from  the  foregoing  tabulated  summary  of  replies  that  fires 
were  twice  as  destructive  in  this  as  in  any  former  year  for  which  fig- 
ures are  available,  although  1912  was  not  abnormally  dry,  nor  specially 
favorable  to  forest  fires.  An  average  forest  fire  damage  for  the  past 
three  years  of  nearly  half  a million  dollars,  has  leaped  at  once  to  a loss 
of  $1,089,784.  This  is  equivalent  to  more  than  half  the  total  tax  for 
schools  in  the  whole  State  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

In  the  mountain  counties,  where  the  fires  were  the  most  destructive, 
the  damage  done  by  fires  undoubtedly  exceeded  in  value  the  total  taxes 
for  that  region  last  year.  A loss  of  $652,000  is  reported  for  less  than 
half  the  townships  of  the  region,  while  the  total  State  and  county  taxes 
for  all  the  townships  only  aggregated  about  $760,000. 

Should  not  some  effort  be  made  to  reduce  this  fire  tax,  literally  a 
double  tax? 

CAUSES  OF  FOREST  FIRES. 

In  examining  the  tabulated  causes  of  forest  fires  as  given  by  the 
correspondents  (see  Table  7),  with  the  object  of  ascertaining  the  reason 
for  the  large  increase  in  the  damage  done  by  fires,  especially  in  the 
mountains,  during  the  past  year,  three  items  attract  our  attention, 
namely,  those  under  the  heading  of  “hunters,”  those  caused  by  “malice, 
or  incendiary,”  and  those  attributed  to  “loafers,  trespassers,  etc.”  It 
is  seen  that  the  two  former  have  made  their  largest  increase  in  the 
western  and  piedmont  sections  of  the  State,  while  the  third  is  men- 
tioned only  in  the  mountains.  This  may  be  only  a coincidence,  but 
it  seems  to  throw  some  light  on  the  fact  previously  noted,  that  the  fires 
in  the  mountains  were  much  worse  than  usual,  and  that  this  could  not 
be  traced  directly  to  any  long  period  of  excessively  dry  weather. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


17 


Table  7.— CAUSES  OF  FOREST  FIRES  IN  THE  DIFFERENT  REGIONS  OF  NORTH  CARO- 
LINA IN  1912.  COMPARED  WITH  THE  THREE  PRECEDING  YEARS,  IN  PERCENTAGES. 


1912. 

1911, 

1910, 

1909. 

Moun- 

tain. 

Pied- 

mont. 

Coastal. 

State. 

State. 

Farmers  burning  brush,  grass,  rubbish,  etc 

3 

16 

1 

8 

12 

Hunters 

21 

15 

13 

16 

10 

2 

2 

1 

3 

Carelessness __ 

16 

21 

23 

20 

18 

Railroad  locomotives,  sparks  from 

7 

18 

25 

18 

20 

Logging  locomotives,  dummy  engines,  etc _ _ 

5 

5 

12 

7 

8 

8 

3 

4 

4 

i 

i 

To  improve  the  range 

7 

3 

5 

5 

3 

2 

1 

3 

1 

1 

Malice  or  incendiary ___  ____ 

18 

10 

5 

10 

6 

Unknown  causes 

7 

2 

12 

7 

7 

1 

7 

2 

Campers _ ..  ... 

2 

.5 

1 

From  Table  7 it  would  appear  that  the  large  increase  in  damage 
done  by  fires  in  1912  was  due  to  a large  extent  to  hunters,  loafers,  tres- 
passers, and  other  persons  who  set  out  fire  either  from  malice  or  else 
from  what  might  justly  be  called  criminal  carelessness.  This  conclu- 
sion is  supported  by  information  secured  from  other  sources.  As  one 
farmer  in  the  mountains  put  it:  “Fires  seemed  to  spring  up  on  every 
side  during  this  week  or  two  of  dry  weather  in  November.” 

Looking  at  it  from  the  standpoint  of  the  man  who  wants  to  prevent 
the  recurrence  of  such  conditions,  the  outlook  is  hopeful.  This  class 
of  fires  are  the  easiest  of  any  to  handle,  because  they  are  strongly  con- 
demned by  all  reputable  citizens.  Public  opinion  is  strongly  against 
the  men  who  purposely  set  out  fire  in  a dry  time  on  other  men’s  land ; 
and  all  we  need  to  enable  us  to  handle  such  fires  is  a good  strong  law, 
with  some  organization  to  put  it  into  effect.  Public  opinion  will  then 
see  that  it  is  enforced. 


3 


18 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


A NEW  LAW  AGAINST  HUNTERS  SETTING  OUT  FIRES. 

In  line  witli  these  conclusions,  hut  before  they  were  formulated,  the 
General  Assembly  of  1913  passed  a bill  to  prevent  hunters  leaving  fires 
unextinguished  in  the  woods.  This  law,  as  far  as  it  goes,  is  in  the  right 
direction,  but,  unfortunately,  it  is  like  so  many  more  of  our  legislative 
enactments  in  that  it  lacks  the  proper  means  and  power  for  its  enforce- 
ment. This  hill  is  here  given  in  full,  and  reads  as  follows : 

AN  ACT  TO  AMEND  SECTION  3347  OF  THE  REVISAL  OF  1905  SO  AS  TO 
INCLUDE  HUNTERS  WHO  FAIL  TO  EXTINGUISH  FIRES. 

The  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  do  enact: 

Section  1.  That  section  3347  of  the  Revisal  of  1905  be  and  the  same  is 
hereby  amended  by  adding  after  the  word  “fires”  and  before  the  first  comma 
in  line  four  thereof,  the  following : “or  hunter  who  shall  set  fire  to  any  tree, 
stump,  or  other  combustible  matter  and  leave  without  totally  extinguishing 
such  fire.” 

Sec.  2.  That  this  act  shall  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  ratification. 

Ratified  this  the  4th  day  of  February,  A.  D.  1913. 

Section  3347  of  the  Revisal  of  1905  is  a law  that  has  been  on  the 
statute-books  of  the  State  for  many  years,  having  been  part  of  the  old 
Code.  It  was  originally  made  to  prevent  wagoners  who  hauled  produce 
through  the  country  from  leaving  their  camp-fires  unextinguished  when 
they  drove  on.  This  section,  as  amended  to  include  hunters  by  the 
recent  enactment,  now  reads  as  follows : 

Sec.  3347.  Woods,  from  Camp-fires. — If  any  wagoner  or  other  person  en- 
camping in  the  open  air  shall  leave  his  camp  without  totally  extinguishing  the 
camp-fires,  or  hunter  tcho  shall  set  fire  to  any  tree,  stump,  or  other  combustible 
matter  and  leave  without  totally  extinguishing  such  fire,  he  shall  be  guilty 
of  a misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  thereof  shall  be  fined  not  exceeding 
fifty  dollars  or  imprisoned  not  exceeding  thirty  days. 

This  law  and  the  old  section  against  setting  fires  to  the  woods,  sec- 
tion 3346,  quoted  in  Economic  Paper  Ho.  25,  are  the  only  laws  against 
forest  fires  which  we  have  at  present  of  general  application  to  all  the 
State.  A second  measure,  however,  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  of 
1913,  applicable  only  to  certain  conditions.  It  is  entitled  “An  act  to 
protect  watersheds  owned  by  cities  and  towns  from  damage  by  fire.” 
As  there  are  only  comparatively  few  such  watersheds  in  this  State,  its 
enforcement  can  he  brought  into  play  only  in  a restricted  way.  How- 
ever, the  burning  of  such  watersheds  affects  a much  larger  number  of 
people  than  any  areas  of  similar  size  in  the  State,  so  that  it  is  most 
wise  to  adopt  special  means  for  their  protection. 

All  of  our  laws  for  the  protection  of  our  forests  from  fire  have  the 
same  weakness  which  was  spoken  of  above,  namely,  the  lack  of  any 


FOREST  FIRES  IN'  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


19 


machinery  through  which  they  may  be  enforced.  One  hears  from  all 
sides  that  the  laws  are  no  good;  that  offenders  cannot  be  discovered; 
and,  if  discovered,  are  not  prosecuted;  and,  if  prosecuted,  cannot  be 
convicted.  All  this  could  he  changed  by  the  adoption  of  a State  Forest 
Warden  system.  Such  a system  is  now  working  effectively  in  about 
half  the  States  in  the  Union,  and  throughout  Canada.  Such  a bill* 
was  introduced  into  the  recent  session  of  the  Legislature  by  one  of  the 
most  prominent  representatives  from  the  mountain  part  of  the  State, 
and,  though  only  an  appropriation  of  $5,000  a year  was  asked  for  to 
organize  and  start  a Forest  Warden  system  in  such  counties  as  were 
especially  liable  to  fires  and  where  the  citizens  were  most  anxious  to 
prevent  them,  the  bill  was  killed  in  committee,  because,  it  was  said,  the 
State  could  not  afford  to  spend  that  amount. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

Can  the  State  afford  to  pay  out  $5,000  to  start  a scheme  which  has 
proved  its  value  in  preventing  fires  in  other  States  and  other  coun- 
tries? It  cannot  afford  not  to  do  it.  A loss  from  one  year’s  fires  of 
over  $1,000,000,  a total  loss  for  the  past  four  years  of  over  $2,500,000, 
would  surely  persuade  even  the  most  indifferent  that  it  was  time  to 
act,  and  to  act  effectively.  Our  people  are  said  to  he  losing  millions 
of  dollars  each  year  by  the  freight  discrimination  of  the  railroads,  but 
to  remedy  that  condition  laws  have  been  passed  and  special  commis- 
sions appointed,  and  even  the  calling  of  a special  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature has  been  suggested.  A similar  loss  from  forest  fires  to  the 
farmers  and  timberland  owners  of  the  State  not  only  goes  on  from 
year  to  year  almost  unnoticed,  but,  when  a proposal  is  made  to  stop 
it,  the  claim  is  made  that  the  State  is  too  poor  to  appropriate  money 
for  such  a purpose.  Hot  until  the  people  want  forest  protection  will 
the  State  be  rich  enough  to  afford  it,  but  as  soon  as  the  people  ask  for 
such  protection  they  will  get  it. 


* See  page  84,  Biennial  Report  of  State  Geologist,  191I-'12. 


FEDERAL  FOREST  PROTECTION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


The  Federal  Government  is  by  far  the  largest  owner  of  forest  land 
in  the  United  States.  This  land  is  included  in  National  Forests,  In- 
dian Reservations,  National  Parks,  Military  Reservations,  and  a small 
amount  in  the  unreserved  public  lands. 

“The  unappropriated  public  domain  is  so  widely  scattered,  and  is  passing 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  Government  at  such  a rapid  rate,  that  its  protection 
and  administration  would  be  impracticable  even  were  there  any  provision  for 
such  a course.  As  a matter  of  fact,  there  are  neither  funds  nor  men  available 
for  this  purpose,  and  absolutely  no  steps  have  been  or  are  being  taken  to  pre- 
vent the  destruction  by  fire  of  timber  on  the  public  domain.”* 

“On  the  military  reservations  there  is  very  little  destruction  of  timber  by 
fire.  The  reservations  are  for  the  most  part  small  and  the  proportion  of  com- 
mercial forest  low.  . . . The  presence  of  troops  on  or  near  each  reserva- 

tion makes  it  possible  to  extinguish  promptly  any  fire  that  may  occur.  In 
some  cases  patrol  is  maintained  to  guard  against  forest  fires.”* 

“On  the  National  parks  protection  from  fire  is  as  complete  as  on  the  mili- 
tary reservations,  according  to  the  reports  of  the  respective  superintendents. 
The  parks  are  in  general  much  larger  than  reservations  and  contain  a much 
greater  area  of  merchantable  forest.  Where  danger  from  fire  exists,  a regular 
patrol  is  maintained,  and  a sufficient  body  of  troops  is  available  to  promptly 
extinguish  any  fire  that  may  occur.”* 

“No  statistics  are  available  as  to  damage  by  forest  fires  on  the  Indian 
reservations.  It  is,  however,  known  that  these  reservations  have  received 
immense  damage  from  year  to  year,  and  that  but  little  effort  has  been  made 
to  prevent  the  indefinite  recurrence  of  such  damage.  Fires  occurring  near 
the  agencies  have  in  many  cases  been  extinguished.  No  provision  has,  how- 
ever, been  made  by  Congress  for  a systematic  patrol.  Superintendents  of 
Indian  reservations  have  neither  the  authority  nor  the  funds  to  employ  men 
for  fire  fighting,  and  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  the  Indians  to  voluntarily  per- 
form work  of  this  kind.  Under  such  circumstances,  fires  will  inevitably  occur 
in  the  future,  as  they  have  in  the  past,  in  the  more  remote  and  inaccessible 
regions.”* 

Tbe  Office  of  Indian  Affairs  is,  however,  now  paying  more  attention 
to  tbe  care  of  tbe  forests  on  tbe  Indian  Reservation  than  it  bas  pre- 
viously done.  In  “Regulations  and  Instructions  for  Forest  Officers  in 
charge  of  Forests  on  Indian  Reservations;  approved  June  29,  1911,” 
forest  officers  are  directed  to  “use  all  diligence  in  tbe  detection  of 
parties  guilty  of  a violation  of  tbe  act  against  setting  fire  to  forests 
on  tbe  public  domain,”  referred  to  on  page  24,  which  includes  fires  on 
Indian  Reservations.  It  is  also  directed  that : 

“Each  superintendent  or  forest  officer  in  charge  is  responsible  for  the  divi- 
sion of  his  Indian  forest  into  patrol  districts  and  the  assignment  of  guards  to 
each  district.  Guards  must  use  every  possible  effort  to  extinguish  every  fire 

* Forest  Fires:  Report  of  the  National  Conservation  Commission,  1909,  page  453. 


FOREST  PIKES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


21 


of  which  they  have  knowledge,  and  must  immediately  investigate  every  one 
of  which  they  are  informed.  During  dry  and  dangerous  periods  the  selection 
of  headquarters,  camping  places,  and  routes  should  be  made  with  the  single 
object  of  preventing  and  discovering  fires.  Fires  caused  by  lightning  are  not 
rare,  especially  in  dry  mountain  regions.  After  every  electric  storm  a 
special  effort  should  be  made  to  locate  and  extinguish  any  such  fires  before 
they  are  well  under  way.” 

“Every  superintendent  is  authorized,  in  person  or  through  a subordinate,  to 
hire  temporary  men,  purchase  tools  and  supplies,  and  pay  for  their  transporta- 
tion from  place  to  place  to  extinguish  a fire.  No  expense  for  fighting  a fire 
outside  a reservation  must  be  incurred  unless  the  fire  threatens  the  reserva- 
tion. Fire  fighters  should  be  paid  by  the  hour,  actual  working  time,  at  the 
current  local  rates.  The  time  consumed  in  going  to  and  from  the  fire  may  be 
included.  While  the  Indian  Office  is  doing  its  utmost  to  pi’event  and  fight 
fires,  only  a limited  amount  of  money  is  available  for  this  purpose.” 

It  is  in  the  National  Forests,  however,  that  much  the  largest  part 
of  the  Government  timberland  is  located,  and  here,  fortunately,  we  find 
the  most  efficient  and  businesslike  system  of  fire  protection.  A short  ac- 
count of  this  system,  together  with  some  of  the  results  already  obtained, 
should  he  of  especial  interest  to  all  North  Carolinians  at  this  time, 
not  only  because  we  are  now  developing  a forest  policy  of  our  own  and 
such  an  example  may  he  of  the  greatest  use  to  us,  hut  also  because  the 
Federal  Government  is  now  gradually  acquiring  considerable  areas  of 
our  mountain  lands  for  an  Appalachian  National  Forest.  The  methods 
of  fire  protection  which  are  now  being  put  into  force  on  these  lands 
will  no  doubt  follow  closely  those  which  are  succeeding  in  the  National 
Forests  of  the  West. 

FIRE  PROTECTION  ON  THE  NATIONAL  FORESTS. 

For  purposes  of  administration,  the  160  National  Forests  in  the 
United  States  are  grouped  into  six  districts.  Each  district  is  in  charge 
of  a District  Forester,  who  is  immediately  responsible  to  the  Chief 
Forester  in  Washington.  The  District  Foresters,  with  full  district 
office  forces,  have  headquarters  in  well  chosen  centers. 

Each  National  Forest  is  in  charge  of  a Forest  Supervisor,  who  is 
directly  responsible  to  the  District  Forester.  Where  the  forests  are 
small,  a supervisor  sometimes  has  charge  of  two.  This  officer’s  head- 
quarters are  usually  located  as  near  the  main  lines  of  railroad,  tele- 
graph, and  telephone  communication  as  possible,  so  that  he  will  be 
in  close  touch  with  the  District  office  as  well  as  with  all  parts  of  his 
forest.  The  rangers,  on  the  other  hand,  are  scattered  over  the  forest 
and  have  their  headquarters  wherever  they  can  best  look  after  their 
own  particular  parts  of  the  forest.  There  are  on  an  average  from 
eight  to  ten  rangers  to  the  average  forest  of  1,000,000  acres  in  extent. 


22 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


A forest  of  this  size  is  equivalent  “to  an  area  from  30  to  50  miles 
wide  and  from  40  to  60  miles  long.  To  protect  such  an  area  from  fire, 
especially  with  the  difficulties  of  transportation  and  communication,  is 
exceedingly  difficult.” 

Mr.  F.  A.  Silcox,  District  Forester  in  District  1,  has  explained  fire 
prevention  and  control  on  the  National  Forests  so  clearly  that  his 
article  is  largely  quoted  below:* 

CAUSES  OF  FIRES. 

“The  causes  are  many,  but  practically  all  can  be  classified  as  preventable. 
The  usual  causes  in  the  order  of  their  frequency  are : Railroad  engines ; light- 
ning ; careless  campers ; fishermen  and  hunters ; settlers  burning  brush  to 
clear  land  for  cultivation ; logging  engines  and  sawmills ; malicious  incendia- 
ries.” 

How  like  our  own  North  Carolina  conditions ! 

PREVENTION  OF  RAILROAD  FIRES. 

“To  prevent  the  innumerable  small  fires  set  by  railroads,  oil  must  ultimately 
be  used  as  a fuel.  An  efficient  spark  arrester  which  will  keep  large  glowing 
embers  from  being  thrown  out  into  the  dry  grass,  brush,  or  debris  usual  along 
the  right  of  way  will  assist  greatly,  but  will  not  entirely  prevent  fires.” 

“There  must  be  some  way  to  prevent  those  cinders  which  do  get  away  from 
starting  fires,  and  the  only  effective  one  is  to  clear  the  right  of  way  of  all 
inflammable  material.  There  should  be  no  standing  timber,  no  punk  logs  and 
debris,  and  it  should  then  be  burned  over  periodically,  under  careful  super- 
vision, to  prevent  further  accumulation  of  inflammable  stuff.  Through  open 
country  it  is  best  to  plow  a furrow  or  two  at  the  outer  edge  of  the  right  of 
way  to  serve  as  a fire  break.  The  method  to  be  adopted  depends  to  a great 
extent  on  topography.  Two  to  four  furrows  on  each  side  of  the  track  are 
usually  sufficient.  In  addition,  it  is  necessary  to  patrol  the  right  of  way 
immediately  after  every  heavy  freight  train,  by  a man  on  a speeder.” 

“Appreciating  the  common  danger,  the  Government  and  certain  railroads 
have  outlined,  and  in  some  cases  have  put  into  effect,  a practicable  cooperation. 
Such  cooperative  agreements  are  in  force  between  the  Forest  Service  and  the 
Northern  Pacific  and  the  Great  Northern  railroads,  which  traverse  National 
Forests  in  Idaho,  Montana,  Washington,  and  Oregon. 

“Under  this  cooperation  the  railroad  agrees : To  clear  and  keep  clear  its 

right  of  way  of  all  inflammable  material  to  the  satisfaction  of  a duly  author- 
ized Forest  officer ; to  use  effective  spark  arresters  on  all  locomotives ; to  grant 
the  use  of  pin  room  on  the  poles  on  its  rights  of  way  for  wires  of  the  Govern- 
ment, provided  such  an  arrangement  can  be  made  with  the  company  that  owns 
the  poles : to  permit  use  of  tricycle  speeders  for  patrol  purposes  during  the 
dry  season ; to  furnish  such  assistance  as  is  available  in  case  of  fire : to  pay 
all  expenses  directly  to  the  men  employed  in  fire  fighting,  if  the  fire  is  within 
200  feet  of  the  right  of  way  (this  is  made  100  feet  in  some  cases  to  allow 
Forest  officers  to  ride  on  certain  designated  freight  trains  when  provided  with 
proper  transportation),  to  notify  the  nearest  Forest  officer  in  case  of  a fire. 


* Fire  Prevention  and  Control  on  the  National  Forests,  by  F.  A.  Silcox:  Year-book  separate,  54S, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  1910. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


23 


“On  its  part  the  Forest  Service  agrees  to  patrol  the  right  of  way  during  the 
dry  season ; to  supervise  the  clearing  of  the  right  of  way ; to  construct  such 
telephone  lines  connecting  Forest  officers'  headquarters  as  may  be  necessary; 
to  furnish  caches  of  fire-fighting  tools  at  convenient  points  along  the  right  of 
way ; to  give  to  the  railroad  all  timber  cut  in  clearing  its  right  of  way  or  an 
additional  strip  not  to  exceed  200  feet  in  any  case,  provided  the  timber  does 
not  run  over  10,000  feet  per  acre;  to  pay  directly  the  men  employed  in  fighting 
fire  outside  of  the  200-foot  strip  (but  if  the  railroad  is  later  found  to  be 
responsible  for  the  fire,  the  United  States  is  to  be  reimbursed),  to  notify  the 
nearest  station  agent  of  any  defects  found  in  the  tracks  by  the  patrolmen. 

“Both  parties  to  the  agreement  are  bound : Mot  to  terminate  agreement 

during  the  fire  season ; not  to  terminate  it  outside  of  the  fire  season  without 
thirty  days  notice.” 

WARNING  NOTICES. 

“Plainly  noticeable  on  every  road  or  trail  in  the  National  Forests  are  fire- 
warning notices.  The  essential  feature  of  these  notices  is  an  outline  of  the 
Federal  law  against  setting  or  leaving  any  fire.  It  states  that  malicious  fire 
setting  is  met  with  a punishment  of  $5,000  fine  or  two  years  in  prison,  or 
both ; careless  fire  setting  with  $1,000  fine  or  one  year  in  prison,  or  both.” 

THE  NATIONAL  FOREST  FORCE. 

“Each  forest  is  divided  into  ranger  districts  to  distribute  the  patrol  force 
properly  and  to  fix  the  responsibility  for  a specific  piece  of  territory  on  a 
permanently  employed  ranger,  who  can  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
country  in  which  he  is  to  work.  This  is  important,  since  much  depends  upon 
the  ranger’s  knowledge  of  the  topography  of  his  distinct.  The  size  of  the 
ranger  district  varies,  but  under  present  conditions  is  altogether  too  large. 
In  no  case  should  it  include  more  than  two  townships,  or  approximately  72 
square  miles.  Since  the  ranger  must  not  only  oversee  the  fire  protection 
work,  but  must  handle  the  administrative  work,  such  as  making  estimates, 
maps,  and  reports  on  timber  sales,  must  exercise  general  supervision  over 
the  construction  of  roads  and  trails,  and  make  examination  of  claims,  it  is 
necessary  to  have  additional  men  to  assist  in  patrolling  the  territory.  These 
additional  men  are  needed  mainly  during  the  fire  season — from  June  to  Octo- 
ber— and  are  employed  temporarily  as  guards  to  assist  the  ranger  in  patrol 
work.  To  properly  distribute  these  additional  men.  the  ranger  subdivides 
his  district  into  patrol  units,  to  each  of  which  he  assigns  a forest  guard.  From 
1 to  10  forest  guards  are  assigned  to  a ranger,  depending,  of  course,  on  the 
size  of  his  district  and  the  comparative  danger  from  fires. 

“The  unit  of  patrol  varies  according  to  the  character  of  the  country.  In 
the  very  heavily  timbered  regions  of  the  coast  and  Northwest  one  man  cannot 
adequately  cover,  even  with  every  facility  for  readily  getting  over  the  country, 
more  than  from  25,000  to  30,000  acres.  In  the  more  lightly  timbered  regions, 
where  there  are  a great  many  open  parks,  one  man  can  cover  from  50,000  to 
60,000  acres.  This  would  mean  for  a forest  of  1,000,000  acres  a patrol  force, 
not  including  rangers,  of  thirty-three  men.” 


24 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


LOOKOUT  POINTS. 

“After  dividing  the  forest  into  ranger  districts  and  subdividing  the  districts 
into  patrol  units,  with  a man  in  charge  of  each,  it  is  still  necessary  to  make 
sure  that  these  men  are  in  a position  to  render  effective  service.  The  ranger 
must  select  certain  lookout  points  and  ridges  from  which  he  can  see  over  his 
entire  district.  A view  from  these  high  points  will,  in  many  cases,  be  worth  a 
great  deal  more  for  discovering  fires  than  patrol  lower  down ; hence  these 
points  are  carefully  selected  and  coordinated  to  give  primary  control  of  the 
entire  forest.  They  are  generally  high,  isolated  peaks  from  which  an  unob- 
structed view  may  be  obtained.  If  possible,  they  should  be  in  sight  of  each 
other,  so  that  two  men  can  locate  a fire  accurately  by  taking  triangulation 
compass  bearings. 

“Yet  these  lookout  points  and  ridges  are  of  little  value  if  after  the  fire  is 
discovered  there  is  no  way  to  get  to  it  quickly  because  of  a lack  of  trails,  or 
no  way  to  call  for  immediate  help.  Travel  without  trails  through  mountainous 
regions,  over  windfall  and  through  brush,  must  be  on  foot;  the  time  lost  in 
getting  to  a fire  is  a serious  matter.  Where  the  guard  himself  possibly  could 
put  the  fire  out  when  he  first  discovers  it,  provided  be  could  reach  it  quickly, 
it  might  take  an  army  of  men  to  control  it  after  a delay.  In  most  cases 
ready  assistance  can  be  had  only  along  the  railroads  and  in  the  settled  lower 
valleys.” 

TRAILS  AND  TELEPHONES. 

“In  many  cases  help  is  from  10  to  60  miles  away.  With  a telephone  line 
the  distance  can  be  spanned  in  five  or  ten  minutes ; to  travel  it  may  take  as 
much  as  four  days.  Unless,  however,  it  is  possible  to  bring  in  men,  supplies, 
and  tools  over  road  or  trail,  the  delay  is  still  greater,  for  then  a trail  must  be 
cut  for  pack  horses. 

“Permanent  trails  must  be  built  to  make  the  country  accessible.  They 
should  be  along  all  of  the  main  streams  and  ridges  as  trunk  trails,  then  up 
the  tributaries  and  on  the  spurs  as  laterals.  The  system  must  be  complete, 
comprehensive,  and  coordinated  in  order  to  make  it  possible  for  a man  on 
horseback  to  reach  any  portion  of  his  fire  patrol  unit  within  a few  hours. 
In  case  the  fire  gets  a start,  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  bring  in  a number  of 
men  and  many  supplies,  even  better  means  of  transportation  must  be  pro- 
vided. These  can  be  secured  only  through  wagon  roads  as  far  as  they  can  be 
constructed  and  then  trails  for  pack  animals.  Pack  trains  of  from  eight  to 
thirty  horses  should  be  kept  on  each  forest  where  there  is  risk  of  delay  in 
getting  horses  from  the  outside.  These  horses  may  be  distributed  over  the 
forest  on  trail  construction  work,  or  used  for  packing  supplies  and  carrying 
mail  to  the  patrolmen  away  back  in  the  hills,  so  that  the  men  will  not  have 
to  leave  their  stations  to  come  out  for  two  or  three  days  at  a time  during  a 
critical  period. 

“When  a large  fire  occurs  which  cannot  be  handled  by  the  local  force  of 
rangers  and  guards,  and  assistance  is  needed,  the  telephone  gets  word  to  the 
supervisor,  who,  in  most  cases,  is  in  a town  on  the  railroad,  and  help  is  sent 
in.  The  horses  are  called  into  service  from  their  routes  or  construction  work 
and  put  to  packing  supplies  to  the  fire  camps.  The  caches  of  tools  at  strategic 
points  throughout  the  forest  contain  enough  tools  to  equip  from  ten  to  fifteen 
men.  Larger  caches  at  central  points  of  distribution  in  the  forest  provide 
against  the  loss  of  time  which  would  result  if  they  had  to  be  packed  in.  in 
addition  to  the  food  supplies  for  the  men.” 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


25 


NATIONAL  FOREST  FIRE  LAWS. 

The  following  regulations  and  instructions  in  regard  to  Fire  Tres- 
pass, issued  by  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  to  take  effect  September  1, 
1911,*  shows  that  the  Federal  Government  not  only  believes  in  having 
strong  laws  to  prevent  fires,  but  also  in  rigid  enforcement  of  them : 

FIRE  TRESPASS  REGULATIONS. 

“Tlie  following  acts  are  prohibited  on  lands  of  the  L'nited  States  within 
National  Forests: 

“(a)  Setting  on  fire  or  causing  to  be  set  on  fire  any  timber,  brush,  or  grass: 
Provided,  however,  that  this  regulation  shall  not  be  construed  to  prohibit  the 
building  of  necessary  camp-fires  or  other  fires  for  domestic  or  manufacturing 
purposes. 

“(b)  Building  a camp-fire  in  leaves,  rotten  wood,  or  other  places  where  it  is 
likely  to  spread,  or  against  large  or  hollow  logs  or  stumps,  where  it  is  difficult 
to  extinguish  it  completely. 

“(c)  Building  a camp-fire  in  a dangerous  place,  or  during  windy  weather, 
without  confining  it  to  holes  or  cleared  spaces  from  which  all  vegetable  matter 
has  been  removed. 

“(d)  Leaving  a camp-fire  without  completely  extinguishing  it.” 

INSTRUCTIONS  AND  PROCEDURE  IN  FIRE  TRESPASS. 

“The  act  of  June  4,  1897.  authorizes  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  to  make 
rules  and  regulations  for  the  occupancy,  use,  and  protection  of  the  National 
Forests,  and  provides  that  any  violation  of  such  rules  and  regulations  shall 
be  punishable  by  a fine  of  not  more  than  $500.  or  imprisonment  for  not  more 
than  12  months,  or  both.  The  Secretary  in  the  exercise  of  this  authority 
promulgated  Regulation  T-l  (quoted  above)  to  insure  care  with  fires  and  thus 
protect  National  Forest  resources. 

“Section  52  of  the  act  of  March  4.  1909  (35  Stat.,  10SS),  provides  a fine  of 
not  more  than  $5,000,  or  not  more  than  two  years  imprisonment,  or  both  fine 
and  imprisonment,  for  willfully  setting  on  fire  or  causing  to  be  set  on  fire  any 
timber,  underbrush,  or  grass  upon  the  public  domain,  or  for  leaving  or  suffer- 
ing a fire  to  burn  unattended  near  any  timber  or  other  inflammable  material. 

“Section  53  of  the  same  act  provides  a fine  of  not  more  than  $1,000.  or 
not  more  than  one  year's  imprisonment,  or  both  fine  and  imprisonment,  for 
failure  to  totally  extinguish  a fire  built  in  or  near  any  forest,  timber,  or  other 
inflammable  material  upon  the  public  domain  before  leaving  it. 

“Offenders  can  be  prosecuted  under  either  of  these  acts.  The  United 
States,  having  all  of  the  legal  remedies  of  a private  citizen,  can.  in  addition 
to  criminal  prosecution,  bring  civil  suit  to  recover  damages  for  loss  by  fire. 

“In  certain  cases  criminal  prosecution  under  the  State  laws  may  be  advisa- 
ble. Such  prosecution  must,  of  course,  be  conducted  in  the  State  courts  and 
by  the  State  authorities,  with  such  assistance  as  may  be  rendered  by  the  dis- 
trict assistant  to  the  solicitor. 

“When  a fire  occurs,  the  most  important  consideration  is.  of  course,  to  put 
it  out.  As  soon  as  possible  thereafter,  the  ranger  in  charge  should  make  dili- 
gent inquiry  into  its  cause.  He  should  not  content  himself  with  conjecture. 


*The  National  Forest  Manual:  Trespass.  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington,  D.  C.,  1911. 
4 


26 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


hearsay,  or  circumstantial  evidence,  but  should  secure  affidavits  from  witnesses 
as  soon  as  it  appears  probable  that  a fire  trespass  case  will  follow.  If  be 
secures  convincing  evidence  that  the  fire  was  incendiary,  and  there  is  reason  to 
suppose  the  offender  will  escape,  be  should  arrest  or  secure  a warrant  for  the 
arrest  of  the  offender. 

“Cases  where  fire  spreads  after  all  reasonable  precautions  are  taken,  or 
where  the  fire  is  entirely  the  result  of  accident,  will  be  considered  innocent, 
and  only  actual  or  compensatory  damages  will  be  demanded. 

“All  cases  where  fires  are  set  maliciously,  or  allowed  to  spread  through 
gross  carelessness  or  neglect,  or  in  violation  of  any  Federal  or  State  law.  are 
willful,  and  evidence  should  be  secured  and  report  prepared  with  a view  to 
criminal  prosecution  as  well  as  the  collection  of  damages.” 

THE  FIRES  OF  1911  ON  NATIONAL  FORESTS. 

In  the  latest  Report  of  the  Forester  the  losses  by  forest  fires  on  the 
National  Forests  are  given  for  1911,  the  final  returns  for  1912  not 
having  been  received.  The  gross  area  of  the  national  Forests  is  about 
160,000,000  acres.  About  22,000,000  of  this  is  alienated,  i.  e.,  owned, 
as  farms,  ranches,  and  timber  tracts  by  private  individuals,  leaving  a 
net  area  owned  by  the  Government  of  about  138,000,000  acres.  To 
insure  adequate  protection,  the  private  as  well  as  the  public  land  must 
be  patrolled  by  the  forest  officers,  for  fire  starting  on  a farm  inside  a 
national  Forest  threatens  all  the  surrounding  Government  land. 

*“The  total  area  of  National  forest  lands  burned  over  was  469, 63S  acres,  of 
which  348,783  acres  were  timberland  and  120,855  acres  open.  The  loss  in 
timber  destroyed  or  damaged  was  117,174,000  board  feet,  with  an  estimated 
value  of  $172,385.  There  was  also  a loss  in  reproduction  estimated  at  $176,406, 
and  of  forage  valued  at  $5,955,  making  a total  National  forest  loss  of 
$354,746. 

“On  private  lands  within  the  forests  310,342  acres  were  burned  over,  of 
which  267,107  acres  was  timber  and  43,235  acres  open.  The  loss  in  timber 
amounted  to  27,049,000  board  feet,  valued  at  $37,376.  The  total  cost  of  fight- 
ing the  fires  upon  National  forests  and  fires  which  threatened  National  forest 
land  was  $202,046.36.  This  does  not  include  time  spent  by  regular  forest 
officers. 

“The  timbered  area  burned  over  per  1,000  acres  was  1.78  acres  in  1911,  as 
against  1.S6  in  1909,  and  19.90  acres  in  the  disastrous  1910  fire  season. 

PROGRESS  IN  PROTECTION. 

“In  spite  of  the  fact  that  so  many  of  the  fires  occurred  in  regions  of  inacces- 
sibility, the  efficiency  of  the  Forest  Service  fire-protective  machinery  shows  as 
rapid  progress  toward  perfection  as  can  be  obtained  with  the  comparatively 
small  force  of  patrolmen  and  lookouts  who  can  be  employed  with  the  funds 
available. 

“The  mileage  of  trails  and  telephone  lines  was  largely  increased  during  the 
fiscal  year  1912,  and  a considerable  number  of  lookout  stations  were  estab- 
lished and  equipped.  These  improvements  directly  increase  the  efficiency  of 
fire  protection  and  fire  suppression. 

’Report  of  the  Forester  for  1912,  by  Henry  S.  Graves,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


27 


“Special  attention  was  given  to  the  equipment  of  lookout  stations,  since  it 
is  obviously  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  location  of  a fire  be  reported 
and  the  Are  reached  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

“The  locating  of  fires  by  triangulation  methods  has  proved  very  successful. 
Obviously,  however,  this  plan  cannot  be  used  except  in  those  forests  having 
more  than  one  lookout  point  connected  by  telephone.  As  rapidly  as  possible 
the  lookout  points  have  been  put  in  telephone  communication,  and  this  work  is 
being  vigorously  extended.  In  the  Arkansas  and  Ozark  National  Forests, 
for  instance,  where,  largely  because  of  topographic  conditions,  the  need  of  a 
lookout  patrol  system  received  early  recognition,  approximately  To  per  cent 
of  the  area  of  forest  land  is  covered  by  a system  of  lookout  towers  connected 
by  telephone.  It  was  found  necessary  to  construct  towers  on  the  lookout 
points  in  order  to  obtain  a clear  vision,  and  30-foot  wooden  towers  or  60-foot 
steel  towers  built  on  the  style  of  a windmill  have  proved  very  effective. 

“The  practical  results  of  the  lookout  stations  have  been  remarkable.  In 
many  cases  fires  have  been  definitely  located  at  distances  varying  from  10  to 
50  miles  and  word  has  been  telephoned  to  the  nearest  rangers,  who  have 
promptly  extinguished  them.  Lookout  stations  are  of  great  value  in  the  case 
of  lightning  fires.  Sometimes  as  many  as  12  fires  are  started  by  a single 
electric  storm.  The  observer  at  the  lookout  station  locates  all  of  them  and  is 
able  to  direct  the  rangers  just  where  each  fire  is.  so  that  he  can  assemble  the 
necessary  force  and  equipment  to  put  them  out.  Many  instances  have  occurred 
where  the  machinery  has  worked  like  a city  fire  department  and  many  thou- 
sands of  dollars  have  been  saved  by  the  system. 

“Great  progress  was  made  in  the  fire-protection  cooperative  agreement  with 
States,  railroads  traversing  National  forests,  owners  of  large  bodies  of  timber 
in  and  adjacent  to  forests,  and  associations  of  lumbermen.  Several  railroads 
are  using  oil-burning  locomotives  in  heavily  timbered  districts,  and  many  are 
clearing  their  rights  of  way  of  inflammable  debris.  These  cooperative  agree- 
ments mean,  in  many  instances,  the  material  supplementing  of  the  fire-pro- 
tective force  on  the  National  forests  during  the  summer  months.  In  the 
Northwest  there  is  almost  no  agency,  private  or  public,  which  is  not  lending 
its  assistance  to  the  work  of  fire  prevention  and  fire  fighting.  With  all  agen- 
cies in  the  field  working  toward  a common  end,  the  danger  of  destructive  fires 
must  gradually  grow  less. 

“The  problem  of  awakening  the  public  mind  to  the  great  loss  suffered 
annually  from  forest  fires  received  much  attention  during  the  year.  Letters 
were  sent  to  representative  citizens  in  the  vicinity  of  each  National  forest, 
including  the  proprietors  of  hotels  and  resorts,  calling  their  attention  to  the 
annual  fire  loss  and  asking  for  their  cooperation  in  fire  protection  and  sup- 
pression. In  each  letter  the  location  of  the  nearest  ranger  district  was  given, 
together  with  the  name,  address,  and  telephone  number  of  the  ranger  in 
charge.  Many  of  the  recipients  of  these  letters  replied,  offering  valuable 
suggestions  for  the  better  handling  of  the  fire  problem  in  their  vicinity.  In 
a number  of  instances  local  telephone  companies  inserted  in  their  directories 
suggestions  regarding  camp-fires  and  instructions  as  to  reporting  forest  fires 
when  discovered.  Some  of  the  railroads  traversing  National  forest  lands 
inserted  in  their  summer  time-tables,  at  the  request  of  forest  officers,  warning 
notices  against  carelessness  with  fires.  Through  these  and  many  other  means 
public  sentiment  in  National  forest  States  has  become  alive  to  the  importance 
of  fire  protection.” 


28 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


RURAL  MAIL  CARRIERS  TO  REPORT  FOREST  FIRES. 

Another  department  of  the  Federal  Government  has  recently  inaugu- 
rated the  policy  of  cooperating  with  States  in  fire  protection.  As  is 
the  case  of  cooperation  under  the  Weeks  Law,  only  those  States  are 
assisted  which  have  some  kind  of  State  organization  of  their  own  for 
the  prevention  of  forest  fires. 

ISTorth  Carolina  is  therefore  not  as  yet  directly  benefited  by  this  offer 
of  aid  by  the  Post-Office  Department,  but  this  further  opportunity  wait- 
ing at  our  door  should  certainly  be  an  additional  inducement  to  us  as 
a State  to  start  fire  protection  ourselves. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  in  a recent  news  item 
calls  attention  to  this  offer  of  cooperation  in  the  following  words : 

“For  several  years  in  some  sections  of  the  country  a sort  of  informal  under- 
standing has  existed  between  National  Forest  rangers  aud  mail  carriers,  with 
the  idea  of  securing  increased  fire  protection.  The  marked  effectiveness  of 
this  cooperation  was  a strong  argument  in  favor  of  its  extension  aud  official 
sanction,  and  was  in  part  responsible  for  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  which  resulted  in  the  order  by  the  Post-Office  Department. 

“The  plan  is  for  the  carrier  to  report  a fire  to  the  nearest  forest  officer  on 
his  route,  or,  if  no  officer  lives  on  the  route,  to  have  him  notified  by  some 
responsible  citizen.  State  and  National  foresters  are  supplied  with  post-road 
maps  and  with  postal  guides  containing  the  addresses  of  the  different  post- 
masters. The  postmasters  in  turn  are  supplied  by  the  foresters  with  the 
names,  addresses,  and  telephone  call  numbers  of  forest  officers  residing  on  or 
near  the  carriers’  routes.” 

The  order  of  the  Postmaster  General  referred  to  is  published  in  the 
United  States  Official  Postal  Guide  for  May,  1913,  and  is  as  follows: 

FOREST  FIRES  TO  BE  REPORTED  BY  RURAL  AND  STAR  ROUTE 

CARRIERS. 

The  attention  of  postmasters  and  rural  and  star  route  carriers  is 
directed  to  the  following  order  which  appeared  in  the  June,  1912,  Sup- 
plement, and  which  should  be  carefully  observed : 

“May  31,  1912. 

“Order  No.  6315. 

“The  following  instructions  are  promulgated  for  the  guidance  of  the  postal 
employees  concerned : 

“In  accordance  with  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  this 
Department  has  arranged  a plan  of  cooperation  with  State  and  National 
Forest  officers  whereby  rural  and  star  route  carriers  shall  report  forest  fires 
discovered  by  them  along  their  routes  to  persons  designated  by  the  State  and 
National  authorities  to  receive  such  intelligence. 

“Cooperation  with  State  officers  will  be  given  in  the  following  States : 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts.  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut, 


FOREST  FIRES  IN'  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


29 


New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  West  Virginia,  Tennessee, 
Kentucky,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Idaho,  Washington,  Oregon,  and 
California. 

“The  National  Forest  officers  will  be  cooperated  with  in  the  following 
States:  Florida,  Arkansas,  South  Dakota,  Wyoming,  Colorado,  New  Mexico, 

Arizona,  Utah,  Montana,  Idaho,  Washington,  Oregon,  and  California. 

“The  State  and  National  authorities  will  inform  postmasters  as  to  whom 
the  discovery  of  fires  should  be  reported,  and  each  rural  carrier  should  be 
directed  to  cooperate  to  the  fullest  extent  with  such  authorities  in  the  manner 
agreed  upon,  namely,  that  the  carrier  shall  report  a fire  to  the  nearest  State 
fire  warden  or  National  Forest  officer  on  his  route,  or,  if  no  such  warden 
or  officer  lives  on  the  route,  to  arrange  through  some  responsible  citizen  to 
have  him  notified,  by  telephone  if  possible.  Star  route  contractors  and  car- 
riers are  included  in  the  plan  of  cooperation,  and  should  be  requested  to  re- 
port the  discovery  of  fires  in  the  same  manner  as  will  be  done  by  the  rural 
carriers. 

“Postmasters  in  or  near  National  Forests  are  also  directed  to  report  fires 
to  the  nearest  forest  officer.” 

HOW  THE  STATES  ARE  HELPED. 

Quotations  from  tlie  forestry  reports  of  two  representative  States  of 
the  East  and  Middle  West  will  give  some  idea  of  tlie  results  wliicli  are 
being  brought  about  by  this  assistance  now  offered  by  the  Post-Office 
Department : 

New  Hampshire. — The  Forestry  Commission  of  Hew  Hampshire 
reports  d 

“This  agreement  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Forestry  Commission 
by  the  United  States  Forest  Service,  with  instructions  as  to  how  it  should 
proceed.  The  Commission  has  complied  with  the  suggestions  by  sending  let- 
ters to  New  Hampshire  postmasters  and  furnishing  pamphlets  with  lists  of 
the  wardens,  deputies,  and  patrolmen,  to  the  carriers.  The  agreement  has 
not  been  in  effect  long  enough  to  show  what  its  real  value  will  be,  but  the 
Commission  beliei-es  it  will  be  of  material  benefit,  as  tbe  rural  carriers  cover 
many  miles  of  country  and  will  perform  part  of  the  services  of  fire  patrol- 
men.” 

Minnesota. — The  State  of  Minnesota  makes  an  annual  appropriation 
of  $75,000  for  fire  protection  alone,  and  undoubtedly  has  one  of  the 
very  best  equipped  and  most  efficient  State  Forestry  organizations  in 
the  Union.  The  Minnesota  Forest  Service  does  not,  however,  depend 
entirely  on  its  own  efforts,  but  seizes  every  opportunity  to  secure  the 
cooperation  of  all  interested  parties.  The  State  Forester  reports2  that 

“Through  cooperative  arrangements  it  was  possible  to  greatly  increase  the 
effectiveness  of  the  fire  protective  force.  Railroad  companies,  lumber  com- 
panies, and  organized  towns  furnished  patrolmen  who  worked  under  the 
district  rangers,  and  valuable  assistance  was  rendered  by  the  rural  mail 
carriers,  through  an  agreement  with  the  Post-Office  Department.” 


'Report  of  New  Hampshire  Forestry  Commission,  1911-12,  p.  23. 
"Second  Annual  Report  of  the  State  Forester  of  Minnesota,  1912. 


30 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


But,  though  taking  full  advantage  of  the  order  requiring  mail  car- 
riers to  report  forest  fires,  the  scope  of  their  help  was  materially 
widened  by  a special  arrangement  with  the  Postal  authorities. 


In  addition  to  the  fire  warning  notices  issued  last  year,  and  continued  to 
be  supplied  to  the  rangers  for  posting  in  the  pine  and  spruce  country,  another 
form  of  notice  was  issued  for  use  in  the  hardwood  and  prairie  portions  of 
the  State.  Because  of  the  lack  of  ranger  service  in  these  regions,  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  post  a different  kind  of  notice.  An  agreement  was  per- 
fected with  the  Post-Office  Department  at  Washington  in  which  the  rural 
mail  carriers  were  instructed  to  cooperate  with  the  State  Forest  Service  in 
distributing  and  posting  these  notices.  Sixteen  thousand  of  these,  printed 
on  cloth,  were  thus  posted.  A copy  of  the  notice  follows : 


Woodlands  are  rapidly  increasing  in  value.  Soon  every  kind  of  timber  will 
be  worth  money.  Fires  have  destroyed  more  timber  in  Minnesota  than  has 
been  cut.  It  is  time  to  stop  wasting  young  and  growing  timber. 

Observe  the  following  precautions  in  dry  seasons  and  so  reduce  the  fire 
danger : 

1.  Do  not  throw  away  cigar  or  cigarette  stumps,  hot  pipe  ashes,  or  matches, 
until  they  are  absolutely  extinguished. 

2.  Do  not  burn  meadows  or  stubble  fields,  straw  stacks,  or  brush  piles  unless 
protected  by  good  fire-breaks,  with  sufficient  help  at  hand  to  prevent  fires 
jumping  the  breaks.  Evening  or  night  is  the  best  time  to  burn. 

3.  Do  not  leave  any  fire  until  all  traces  of  fire  are  extinguished  or  rendered 
harmless. 

4.  If  it  is  desired  to  burn  off  any  meadow  or  prairie  lands  in  the  spring, 
it  should  be  done  while  the  ground  is  still  frozen,  and  while  snow  still  lies  in 
the  woods.  This  precaution  will  usually  prevent  damage  from  such  fires,  and 
prevent  the  fire  from  getting  into  any  peat  soil  over  which  it  may  run. 

5.  Do  not  stack  your  hay,  grain,  or  other  combustible  material  close  to 
railroad  rights  of  way. 

6.  Plow  double  fire-breaks  around  stacks  or  other  inflammable  property 
which  is  exposed  to  possible  running  fires.  There  should  be.  if  possible,  at 
least  100  feet  between  the  breaks. 

7.  Campers.  Build  small  fires.  Build  them  on  bare  soil,  and  where  they 
will  not  run.  Put  them  out  when  you  leave. 

8.  Be  Careful  with  Fire.  It  pays.  If  you  allow  a fire  to  escape,  you  are 
liable  for  the  damage  it  does,  and  to  a fine  and  imprisonment.  The  State 
law  in  regard  to  fires  is  strict,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  help 


ASSIST  IN  POSTING  WARNINGS. 


CONSIDER! 


enforce  it. 

April  20,  1912. 


William  T.  Cox, 
State  Forester. 


Such  a plan  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  conditions  in  North  Carolina, 
where  the  educative  value  of  such  notices  posted  along  the  rural  and 
star  routes  of  the  State  would  be  of  enormous  value. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


31 


FEDERAL  COOPERATION  WITH  STATES. 

With  the  passage  of  the  Weeks  Law  in  1910,  a new  avenue  for  Fed- 
eral activity  in  fire  protection  was  opened  up,  and  one  which  is  of  far- 
reaching  and  vital  importance  to  us  in  North  Carolina,  though  we 
have  so  far  failed  to  show  any  appreciation  of  its  value.  That  is  coop- 
erative fire  protection  with  the  States. 

Besides  providing  for  the  purchase  of  forest  lands  on  the  headwaters 
of  streams  by  the  Federal  Government  for  the  protection  of  navigable 
streams,  it  is  provided  in  section  2 of  the  Weeks  Law  that  the  sum  of 
$200,000  is  made  available  until  expended,  to  enable  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  to  cooperate  with  any  State,  when  requested  to  do  so,  in 
the  protection  from  fire  of  the  forested  watersheds  of  navigable  streams. 
It  is  provided,  however,  that  no  such  agreement  shall  be  made  with 
any  State  which  has  not  provided  by  law  for  a system  of  forest  fire 
protection,  and  that  in  no  case  shall  the  amount  expended  in  any  State 
exceed  in  any  year  the  amount  appropriated  by  that  State  for  the  same 
purpose  during  the  same  year. 

ADMINISTRATION  BY  THE  FOREST  SERVICE. 

The  law  is  administered  by  the  Forest  Service.  No  State  will  receive 
more  than  $10,000  in  any  one  year.  The  expenditures  in  1911  were 
$39,000;  in  1912  about  $50,000;  while  the  allotments  for  1913  amount 
to  about  $90,000.  A fund  of  about  $20,000  has  been  reserved  to  in- 
crease allotments  to  States  where  an  emergency  due  to  unusual  drought 
may  occur. 

*“In  making  the  allotments  consideration  is  given  especially  to  the  possi- 
bility of  active  assistance  from  private  owners ; to  the  amount  of  appropria- 
tion from  each  State ; to  the  importance  of  the  watersheds  to  be  protected 
with  respect  to  stream  flow  and  navigation ; to  the  relative  area  of  the  water- 
sheds; to  the  kind  and  value  of  the  forests;  and  to  the  relative  Are  risk.  The 
States  assisted  must  at  least  have  initiated  efficient  fire  protective  organiza- 
tions. 

“They  must  secure  the  cooperation  of  private  owners  in  various  activities, 
such  as  the  hire  of  patrolmen,  purchase  of  fire-fighting  equipment,  and  the 
construction  of  lookout  stations  and  telephone  lines.  The  Forest  Service 
takes  the  ground  that  before  a region  shall  receive  Federal  aid  the  private 
owners  must  make  a reasonable  effort  themselves.  This  requirement  is  most 
satisfactorily  met  by  protective  associations  of  timberland  owners,  such  as 
those  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Washington,  and  Oregon. 

“The  aim  is  to  assist  each  State  as  far  as  possible,  helping  especially  the 
ones  which  have  difficulty  in  providing  efficient  protection. 


*“Forest  Fire  Protection  Under  the  Weeks  Law  in  Cooperation  with  States,”  by  J.  Girvin  Peters. 
Cir.  205  (First  Revision),  Forest  Service,  U.  S.  Department  Agriculture,  1913. 


32 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


“Except  for  a nominal  salary  to  the  State  Forester,  the  expenditures  made 
by  the  Federal  Government  are  exclusively  for  the  salaries  of  Federal  patrol- 
men, including  men  assigned  to  lookouts,  to  railroad  patrol,  and  to  similar 
duties.” 

Tlie  States  which  received  Federal  aid  under  the  Weeks  Law  in  1912 
and  the  amounts  allotted  by  the  Government  are  as  follows : 


Maine  

$10,000 

New  Jersey  

$ 2.000 

New  Hampshire  . . . . 

8,000 

Maryland  

2.000 

Vermont  

2,000 

Wisconsin  

5.000 

MnssaHinsptts;  

2,500 

Minnesota  

10,000 

Connecticut  

1.500 

■Washington  

10.000 

New  York  

4,000 

Oregon  

10.000 

Most  of  the  States  did  not  spend  their  full  allotment,  probably  be- 
cause they  were  reserving  something  for  possible  emergencies. 

Besides  the  above,  the  allotments  for  1913  include  three  additional 
States : Kentucky,  which  gets  $4,000 ; Montana,  $3,500 ; and  Idaho, 

$7,000.  In  addition,  $15,000  was  reserved  for  States  which  were  con- 
sidering legislation  which  would  enable  them  to  secure  Federal  cooper- 
ation in  fire  protection.  Among  these  latter  are  Louisiana,  which  has 
already  passed  the  necessary  legislation,  but  which,  on  account  of  dis- 
agreements, has  not  been  able  to  put  it  into  force ; Florida,  whose  Legis- 
lature is  now  considering  an  up-to-date  Forestry  bill;  and  Worth  Caro- 
lina. Unfortunately,  there  is  no  possibility  now  of  our  securing  any 
of  this  assistance,  as  our  Legislature  failed  to  make  any  appropriation 
or  pass  any  law  for  State  forest  fire  protection.  Again  quoting  from 
the  same  circular : 

“Three  hundred  and  eight  Federal  patrolmen  were  employed  in  these  States, 
of  whom  about  200  were  on  continuous  pay  from  the  date  of  appointment  to 
the  end  of  the  season. 

“The  most  important  duties  of  the  patrolman  are  putting  out  small  fires, 
warning  persons  against  setting  or  leaving  fires,  and  recording  their  names 
when  advisable.  In  the  larger  fires  he  has  authority  under  the  State  law  to 
call  out  help. 

“In  addition  to  regular  patrol  duty  and  fire  fighting,  his  work  includes 
watching  for  fires  from  lookout  stations,  burning  slash,  and  constructing 
protective  improvements. 

“In  most  of  the  mountainous  regions,  especially  in  the  Northeast,  the 
lookout  station  is  a highly  developed  feature  of  the  State's  fire  protective 
system.  It  furnishes  the  primary  control  of  the  fire  situation,  while  the 
patrol  conducted  in  the  valleys  beneath  forms  the  secondary  control. 

“The  practical  value  of  the  lookout  station  has  been  thoroughly  tested ; it  is 
one  of  the  best  assets  of  a timbered  country.  Wherever  possible,  the  Federal 
Government  prefers  that  its  funds  be  expended  for  the  salaries  of  lookout 
watchmen. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


33 


RESULTS  ACCOMPLISHED. 

“There  were  many  practical  results  of  cooperation  under  the  Weeks  Law. 
Hundreds  of  fires  left  by  campers,  fishermen,  and  hunters,  or  set  by  careless 
smokers  and  by  locomotives,  were  discovered  by  the  patrolmen  and  promptly 
extinguished.  Great  progress  was  made  on  permanent  improvements  that 
will  simplify  future  fire  control  and  prevention.  But  in  addition  to  these 
tangible  results,  which  have  been  apparent  from  the  start,  the  educational 
value  of  the  work,  although  not  measurable,  has  been  far-reaching.  Except 
in  a few  States,  the  last  two  years  were  the  first  when  any  systematic  State 
patrol  of  the  forests  was  conducted.  It  marked  the  general  extension  of  the 
State  organization  cooperating  with  the  Federal  Government  in  getting  out 
among  the  people;  in  educating  them,  through  the  actual  work  done,  of  the 
need  and  value  of  fire  protection ; and  in  encouraging  their  cooperation. 

EXTENDING  COOPERATIVE  PROTECTION. 

“The  Federal  Government  desires  to  extend  this  cooperative  protection  to 
other  States.  To  secure  its  benefits  they  must  enact  a forest-fire  law  and 
must  appropriate  funds  for  administering  it.  Few  more  effective  steps  could 
be  taken  by  many  States  toward  the  conservation  of  resources  which  support 
important  industries  than  to  inaugurate  systematic  fire  protection. 

“ The  States  Should  Take  the  Lead. — The  fact  that  the  immediate  financial 
interests  of  timber  owners  make  them  backward  in  undertaking  this  insur- 
ance of  their  industry  is  an  additional  reason  for  the  States  to  take  the  lead. 
The  readiness  of  the  Federal  Government  to  cooperate  with  the  States  under 
the  terms  of  the  Weeks  Law,  as  soon  as  the  States  make  a start,  is  an 
incentive  to  immediate  action.’’ 

“ What  a Fire  Law  Should  Provide. — A State  forest-fire  law  should  provide, 
in  addition  to  an  organization  to  fight  fires,  a patrol  force  for  fire  prevention. 
A general  defect  in  fire  laws  is  that  they  provide  only  for  fighting  fires,  and 
not  for  patrol.  The  law  should,  of  course,  carry  an  adequate  appropriation ; 
the  most  serious  defect  has  been  the  inadequacy  of  appropriation. 

“ Cost  of  Protection  — To  protect  the  National  Forests  costs  about  2 cents 
an  acre  annually ; tbe  Biltmore  tract  in  North  Carolina,  about  5 cents  an 
acre;  and  the  lands  of  the  various  timberland  protective  associations  in  the 
Northeastern  and  Northwestern  States,  from  2 to  4 cents  an  acre.  It  is 
probable  that  the  State  can  secure  efficient  protection  for  1 cent  an  acre,  if 
the  larger  private  owners  will  assist  by  contributing  toward  the  protection  of 
their  own  lands.  If,  for  example,  a State  contains  5.000.000  acres  of  forest 
land  which  needs  protection,  an  annual  expenditure  of  $50,000  should  be  suffi- 
cient to  handle  the  work  effectively.  It  is  improbable  that  a State  would 
appropriate  this  amount  at  the  beginning;  an  appropriation  of  $10,000  or 
even  less  would  be  sufficient  to  start  the  work  and  demonstrate  its  value.” 

The  last  session  of  Congress  continued  the  appropriation  to  carry 
on  this  important  work,  so  that  it  will  still  be  possible  for  ISTorth  Caro- 
lina to  obtain  assistance  in  fire  protection  if  we  can  secure  the  proper 
legislation  at  the  next  session  of  the  General  Assembly.  An  appropri- 
ation of  even  $10,000,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Peters  in  the  circular  above 


34 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


quoted,  would  enable  us  to  receive  substantial  assistance  from  the 
Government  for  fire  protection  over  practically  all  of  tbe  western  part 
of  tbe  State.  Tbe  estimated  loss  from  fires  for  1912  shows  conclusively 
that  fire  protection  is  needed.  We  cannot  afford  any  longer  to  neglect 
this  splendid  opportunity  of  securing  some  substantial  aid  in  starting 
a protective  system  which  will  mean  so  much  to  the  present  and  future 
welfare  of  the  people  of  the  State. 

HOW  THE  STATES  ARE  BENEFITED  BY  THE  WEEKS  LAW. 

In  order  to  give  Horth  Carolina  readers  some  idea  of  the  immense 
advantage  this  Federal  assistance  under  the  Weeks  Law  has  already 
been  to  other  States,  not  only  in  preventing  forest  fires,  but  in  an 
educational  way  also,  the  experience  and  opinions  of  several  State 
Forest  officers  are  here  quoted  verbatim  from  recent  State  reports. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  forest  conditions  in  these  States  differ 
more  or  less  from  those  in  our  own  State,  but  it  is  just  as  true  that 
there  is  a greater  difference  between  several  of  the  States  here  men- 
tioned than  there  is  between  some  of  them  and  Horth  Carolina.  Meth- 
ods that  have  proved  equally  effective  in  preventing  and  controlling 
forest  fires  in  Hew  Hampshire  and  Oregon,  in  Maryland  and  Minnesota, 
in  Hew  Jersey  and  Wisconsin,  would,  if  tried  out  in  Horth  Carolina, 
no  doubt  bring  similar  results. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  reading  these  State  reports  that  this 
Federal  cooperation  was  only  started  in  1911,  and  that  at  best  it  has 
scarcely  been  in  operation  two  seasons.  The  results,  which  are  in  every 
case  very  satisfactory,  are  therefore  the  more  remarkable  and  encourag- 
ing. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

The  State  of  Hew  Hampshire  has  for  purposes  of  fire  protection 
been  divided  up  into  four  fire  districts,  each  in  charge  of  a district 
chief.  Federal  patrolmen  were  employed  only  in  the  three  more  north- 
erly districts  which  include  all  the  more  mountainous  and  timbered 
portions  of  the  State.  This  region  includes  the  headwaters  of  the  navi- 
gable streams. 

In  tlie  report  of  the  Forestry  Commission  for  1911-12,  Federal  aid 
in  fire  protection  and  the  work  of  the  Federal  patrolmen  is  commented 
upon  as  follows : 

“New  Hampshire  was  the  first  State  to  benefit  by  the  cooperative  fire  pro- 
tection fund  provided  in  section  2 of  the  Weeks  Act.  By  this  law  $200,000 
was  appropriated  on  March  1,  1911. 

“The  State  was  allowed  $7,200  for  employing  patrolmen  in  the  mountain 
region  during  the  fire  season  of  1911.  The  agreement  was  renewed  in  1912, 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


35 


and  the  allotment  was  increased  to  $8,000.  To  carry  this  agreement  into 
effect,  the  State  Forester  and  the  forester  for  the  Xew  Hampshire  Timber- 
land  Owners’  Association  are  appointed  collaborators  in  the  Forest  Service 
for  the  purpose  of  supervising  the  Federal  men.  During  1911  all  the  men 
were  employed  for  patrol  work,  but  in  1912  six  of  them  were  used  on  lookout 
stations. 

“The  most  important  duties  of  the  patrolmen  when  covering  their  routes 
were  putting  out  small  fires,  warning  persons  they  met  about  fire  danger, 
and  recording  the  names  of  parties  going  into  the  woods.  During  1911. 
sixty -nine  such  fires  were  extinguished,  and  up  to  August  31,  1912.  fifty  fires. 

“The  patrolmen  were  instructed  to  warn  persons  found  in  the  woods  about 
the  danger  from  fire,  inform  them  about  the  laws,  record  the  names  and 
addresses  of  such  people,  and  forward  such  names  to  the  district  chiefs.  The 
educational  value  of  such  work  is  incalculable.  During  1911  4.700  warnings 
were  issued,  and  up  to  August  31,  1912,  about  2,500  warnings.  This  would 
indicate  that  many  people  have  been  restrained  who  otherwise  might  have 
caused  fires  through  carelessness.  In  many  instances  during  dry  weather, 
when  the  patrolmen  interviewed  camping  and  fishing  parties  and  recorded 
their  names,  the  parties  abandoned  their  plans,  not  with  much  protesting, 
but  simply  not  wishing  to  be  held  responsible  for  a fire  caused  by  some  care- 
less person.  It  is  the  plan  of  the  commission  to  catalogue  these  names 
recorded  by  the  patrolmen  and  mail  copies  of  the  fire  laws  to  them.  It  is 
hoped  that  in  this  way  each  year  a greater  proportion  of  the  people  who 
come  into  the  woods  will  have  respect  for  the  law  and  knowledge  that  the 
timberlands  are  being  patrolled. 

“In  addition  to  the  regular  duties,  the  improvement  work  done  by  the 
patrolmen  will  each  year  make  the  territory  easier  to  protect  and  render 
their  work  more  efficient.  During  the  two  field  seasons  they  helped  in  the 
construction  of  50  miles  of  telephone  line,  built  or  fixed  15  camps  for  tempo- 
rary headquarters,  brushed  out  50  miles  of  old  trails,  and  cut  70  miles  of 
new  trails.” 

OREGON. 

The  second  annual  report  of  the  Oregon  State  Forester  might  almost 
be  called  a handbook  of  forest  fire  prevention.  Perhaps  in  no  other  State 
in  the  Union  has  protection  of  the  forest  from  fire,  through  prevention, 
become  more  firmly  established  as  a settled  policy  of  the  people  than 
in  Oregon.  This  State  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  thi’ee  States  in  which 
the  private  owners  have  more  satisfactorily  met  the  requirements  of 
the  Weeks  Law  relative  to  fire  protective  activities. 

The  State  Forester  in  his  latest  report*  discusses  the  results  so  far 
accomplished  under  section  2 of  the  Weeks  Law,  as  follows : 

“It  has  been  proven  that  only  through  the  closest  cooperation  of  Federal 
Government,  State,  and  private  interests  can  economy  in  protection  be  secured. 
Under  any  other  arrangement  duplication  of  effort  is  inevitable.  It  is  there- 
fore urged  that  timber  owners,  through  organization  for  actual  patrol,  put 
themselves  in  a position  to  assist  and  be  assisted  by  the  State. 


See  Annual  Report  of  the  Oregon  State  Forester,  1912. 


36 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


“This  work  lias  made  excellent  headway  the  past  season,  and  no  small 
amount  of  credit  is  due  the  Oregon  Forest  Fire  Association  for  its  efforts 
along  this  line.  This  association  has  worked  hand  in  hand  with  the  State 
and  added  strength  to  the  movement. 

“The  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  1911,  allotted  a sum  not  to  exceed  $5,000 
to  be  used  in  protecting  the  forested  watersheds  of  navigable  streams  in  the 
State.  This  fund  became  available  on  August  10th,  and  the  work  of  appoint- 
ing and  assigning  Federal  patrolmen  to  definite  patrol  districts  was  com- 
menced at  once.  By  August  20,  a force  of  32  patrolmen  to  be  paid  from  this 
fund  had  been  placed  in  the  field.  They  served  for  periods  extending  from 
a month  to  six  weeks,  and  proved  of  great  assistance  in  keeping  down  the 
Are  loss. 

“At  the  commencement  of  the  fire  season  of  1912  this  office  was  notified 
that  Oregon  had  been  allotted  $10,000,  the  maximum  amount  that  could  be 
given  to  any  State  under  the  policy  followed  by  the  Secretary. 

“No  Federal  patrolmen  were  appointed  until  July  loth,  when  weather  con- 
ditions indicated  that  the  most  dangerous  period  of  the  fire  season  was  at 
hand.  The  fire  hazard  during  June  aud  the  early  part  of  July  was  not 
great,  and  it  was  therefore  not  considered  wise  to  use  any  of  the  Federal 
fund  until  there  was  actual  and  immediate  need  of  the  services  of  the  Federal 
patrolmen.  This  plan  made  it  possible  to  place  a large  number  of  Federal 
patrolmen  in  the  field  during  the  period  when  standing  timber  was  most 
endangered,  besides  leaving  sufficient  funds  to  retain  the  patrolmen  until 
early  in  October  in  case  the  Fall  held  off  until  that  time.  In  all.  58  Federal 
patrolmen  were  appointed.  They  served  for  a period  of  from  four  to  eight 
weeks,  depending  upon  the  fire  danger  in  the  district  to  which  they  were 
assigned.  That  the  operation  of  the  cooperative  agreement  was  satisfactory 
to  the  Federal  Government  is  indicated  by  the  following  extract  taken  from 
Acting  District  Forester  C.  H.  Flory's  report  to  the  Forester  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. : 

“ . . The  experience  gained  during  the  season  of  1911  by  the  State 

Forester  in  working  out  the  details  of  organization  under  the  cooperative 
agreement  proved  very  valuable  in  getting  the  work  started,  this  season. 
Cooperation  between  the  State,  the  Oregon  Forest  Fire  Association,  and  the 
Forest  Service  was  carried  out  in  the  fullest  possible  manner. 

“ . . The  Federal  patrolmen  supplemented  in  a most  admirable  manner 

the  regular  State  organization  for  fire  prevention.  In  practically  all  tim- 
bered counties  a supervising  warden  was  appointed  who  was  directly  responsi- 
ble to  the  State  Forester  for  all  matters  concerning  the  county  or  territory 
over  which  he  had  supervision.  In  other  words,  his  position  was  very  similar 
to  that  of  our  forest  supervisors.  The  Federal  patrolmen  were  responsible  to 
the  respective  supervision  wardens,  and  reported  all  matters  concerning  their 
work  to  them. 

“ . . In  building  up  an  organization  for  fire  prevention  and  fire  pro- 

tection which  entails  employment  for  only  a portion  of  the  season,  the  effect- 
iveness of  the  organization  will  be  largely  determined  by  the  number  of  the 
same  men  who  can  be  secured  year  after  year.’ 

“Beyond  question,  the  assistance  given  the  State  Forester  during  the  last 
two  seasons  by  the  Federal  Government  has  been  an  extremely  important 
factor  in  inaugurating  systematic  fire-prevention  work  on  privately  owned 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


37 


lands  in  Oregon.  This  cooperation  has  probably  been  the  greatest  single 
factor  in  getting  county  fire  patrol  associations  organized.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  three  of  the  five  new  associations  would  not  have  been  organized  had 
it  not  been  for  the  assistance  the  State  Forester  was  able  to  give  them  through 
the  Federal  patrolmen.  The  policy  of  Forester  Graves  in  desiring  to  have 
the  Federal  patrolmen  assigned  to  localities  in  which  the  timber  owners 
themselves  were  taking  an  interest  in  fire  prevention  resulted  in  securing 
sufficient  patrol  systems  where  there  had  been  none  heretofore.  In  other 
words,  formerly  indifferent  timber  owners  in  many  localities  were  induced 
to  put  patrolmen  in  the  field  in  order  to  secure  assistance  from  Federal 
patrolmen.  In  a direct  way  the  Federal  cooperation  practically  doubled  the 
efficiency  of  this  office  in  its  forest  protection  work,  since  it  made  it  possible 
to  more  than  treble  the  field  force  during  the  period  when  the  need  for  addi- 
tional help  was  greatest.” 

MARYLAND. 

The  topography  of  Maryland  varies  much,  as  does  that  in  North 
Carolina,  and  its  forests  resemble  ours  quite  closely.  The  Mountain 
region  of  the  State  extends  across  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  the  Piedmont  region  covers  the  center  of  the  State,  while 
the  southern  part,  east  of  the  Chesapeake,  resembles  our  own  Coastal 
Plain  region.  The  forests  are  principally  hardwoods  in  the  mountains, 
mixed  hardwoods  and  pine  in  the  Piedmont  Plateau,  while  loblolly 
pine  is  the  principal  timber  tree  farther  east.  Only  the  Mountain  and 
Piedmont  regions  could  come  under  the  operation  of  the  Weeks  Law. 

The  State  Forester,  in  his  report  on  forest  fires  for  1909,  says:* 

“The  Federal  forest  patrolmen  are  regularly  commissioned  forest  wardens, 
who  are  paid  by  the  Federal  Government  under  the  cooperative  agreement 
provided  in  the  Weeks  Bill. 

“Under  this  arrangement  a forest  patrol  was  organized  on  October  1.  1911, 
to  patrol  the  woodlands  of  the  mountain  counties  during  the  fall  fire  season. 
Seven  patrolmen  were  assigned  to  seven  patrol  districts,  averaging  about  100 
square  miles  each,  in  Garrett,  Alleghany,  Washington,  and  Frederick  coun- 
ties. These  men  were  mounted  on  horseback  and  kept  constantly  on  the 
move  over  their  districts  during  the  days  when  it  was  dry  enough  for  fires 
to  run  in  the  woods,  looking  out  for  forest  fires,  warning  those  who  are  likely 
to  be  careless,  explaining  to  all  the  residents  of  their  district  the  nature  of 
the  fire  protection  work,  and  asking  for  their  cooperation  in  preventing  and 
controlling  forest  fires. 

“The  fall  of  1911  was  an  unusually  wet  season,  so  that  the  value  of  the  fire 
patrol  was  not  fully  demonstrated.  There  were  but  eight  fires  discovered  by 
the  patrolmen,  but  the  fact  that  these  small  fires  were  discovered  and  extin- 
guished before  they  assumed  serious  proportions  demonstrates  the  value  of 
the  patrol  service. 

“Under  our  forest  warden  system,  the  forest  warden  is  not  authorized  to 
incur  any  expense  in  patrol  work  or  in  doing  anything  until  after  the  fire 
has  been  reported  to  him,  and  generally  the  fire  has  done  considerable  dam- 


Report  of  the  Maryland  State  Board  of  Forestry  for  1910  and  1911. 


38 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


age  and  is  difficult  to  control  by  the  time  it  comes  to  the  attention  of  the 
forest  warden.  Under  the  patrol  system  this  trouble  is  largely  overcome, 
and  certainly  for  the  mountain  districts,  where  there  is  a large  percentage 
of  woodland  in  continuous  bodies,  and  where  the  chief  danger  from  forest 
fires  is  confined  to  two  rather  definite  periods — one  from  March  20  to  May  20, 
the  other  from  September  20  to  November  20 — the  patrol  system  is  the  only 
practicable  method  of  dealing  with  the  forest  fire  question.  The  patrolmen 
were  provided  with  printed  matter  relating  to  our  forest  fire  laws  and  fire 
protection,  and  they  were  instructed  to  avail  themselves  of  every  opportunity 
to  place  this  literature  in  the  hands  of  landowners  in  their  district,  and  talk 
with  them  on  the  subject  of  fire  protection.  While  it  is  difficult  to  measure 
the  effect  of  this  work,  it  is  believed  that  it  has  been  instrumental  in  securing 
a more  thorough  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  landowners  of  the  mountains 
in  suppressing  forest  fires.  The  landowners  in  every  case  have  shown  their 
willingness  to  cooperate,  and  now  that  their  attention  has  been  called  to  the 
forest  laws,  and  to  the  determination  on  the  part  of  the  State  and  Federal  Gov- 
ernment to  aid  them  in  securing  fire  protection,  they  have  been  encouraged  to 
hold  a different  view  toward  the  forest  fire  question.  It  was  just  such  work 
as  this  which  was  required  to  crystallize  the  sentiment  and  to  make  it 
effective.  The  forest  patrolmen  not  only  visited  the  landowners  in  their  dis- 
tricts, posted  warning  notices  and  warned  the  careless,  but  also  visited  the 
schoolhouses  and  got  the  teachers  interested.  Our  forest  laws  are  sufficiently 
comprehensive  to  cover  the  situation  and  to  meet  any  emergency  that  may 
arise,  but  it  is  through  just  such  an  agency  as  the  patrol  to  create  public 
sentiment  that  will  make  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  more  certain.  The  fact 
that  the  Federal  Government  is  paying  men  to  patrol  the  woodlands  and 
enforce  the  forest  fire  laws  carries  with  it  a dignity  and  force  which  cannot 
fail  to  arouse  the  admiration  and  good-will  of  the  people  generally.  . . . 

The  importance  of  the  forest  protection  work  is  sufficient  in  itself  to  warrant 
a substantial  appropriation  by  the  State,  but  when  the  Federal  Government 
stands  ready  to  add  an  equal  amount,  within  reasonable  limits,  there  is  the 
strongest  kind  of  an  argument  for  a liberal  appropriation  for  this  work." 

MINNESOTA. 

As  brought  out  elsewhere  in  this  report,  the  Minnesota  forestry  offi- 
cials, though  spending  a larger  sum  for  fire  protection  than  any  other 
State  except  New  York,  believe  in  cooperation  in  forest  fire  prevention, 
and  practice  it  with  lumbermen,  railroads,  and  the  Federal  Government. 
It  is  therefore  interesting  to  see  what  results  the  State  Forester  of 
Minnesota  secures. 

After  one  season’s  experience,  the  State  Forester  reports:* 

“The  value  of  Federal  cooperation  in  1911  with  the  Minnesota  Forest  Service 
cannot  be  overestimated.  The  additional  $10,000  rendered  available  by  the 
cooperative  agreement  permitted  the  employment  of  a force  of  patrolmen 
nearly  double  the  size  of  the  force  which  it  would  otherwise  have  been  possible 
to  retain.  State  expenditures  were  of  such  an  important  nature  that  to  have 


* First  Annual  Report  of  the  State  Forester  of  Minnesota,  1911. 


FOREST  FERES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


39 


cut  their  aggregate  by  $10,000  would  have  been  inadvisable,  even  impossible. 
Consequently,  bad  this  aid  not  been  available,  even  the  insufficient  force  of 
patrolmen  in  the  field  in  1911  would  have  been  decreased  by  almost  one-half. 
This  would  have  meant  at  least  a proportionate  decrease  in  the  amount  of 
educational  work  done  in  the  State,  the  value  of  which  is  incalculable. 

“There  were  114  fires  reported  in  1911,  which  resulted  in  approximate  dam- 
age of  $18,615.  It  is  fair  to  assume  that  a one-half  decrease  in  the  number 
of  patrolmen  would  have  meant  that  at  least  one-half  of  these  fires  would 
have  gotten  beyond  control,  with  an  entirely  disproportionate  increase  in  the 
amount  of  damage  done.  It  is  fair  to  figure,  taking  into  consideration  the 
prevailing  state  of  mind  toward  fires  in  previous  years,  that  with  one-half  of 
the  watchful  patrol  force  eliminated,  far  more  fires  would  have  been  set  and 
would  have  escaped  from  careless  burning  than  was  actually  the  case. 

“Since  the  Federal  patrolmen  were  stationed  in  districts  which  embrace 
the  headwaters  of  navigable  streams,  their  work  was  of  National  as  well  as 
of  State  importance.  From  either  viewpoint,  the  returns  from  the  expendi- 
ture of  the  $10,000  Federal  funds  were  greater  than  the  sum  itself  would 
indicate. 

“The  Federal  Forest  Service  aided  the  State  in  other  ways  than  by  furnish- 
ing direct  financial  assistance.  The  men  employed  on  the  two  National 
Forests  in  Minnesota  were  appointed  special  rangers  of  the  Minnesota  Forest 
Service,  to  serve  without  pay  in  looking  after  the  State  interests  within  the 
National  Forests.  The  National  Forests  also  cooperated  in  the  construction 
of  lookout  towers  and  the  clearing  of  trails  and  portages,  where  this  would 
he  of  mutual  advantage  to  both  the  National  and  State  services.  The  two 
organizations  work  in  harmony  at  all  times,  to  their  common  benefit.’’ 

NEW  JERSEY. 

Though  its  total  area  is  only  one-sixth  that  of  Horth  Carolina,  the 
topography  and  forests  of  the  two  States  are  very  similar.  In  the 
north  there  are  rough  wooded  mountainous  regions ; in  the  central  por- 
tions are  rich  farming  lands,  and  in  the  south  are  vast  stretches  of 
sandy  pine  lands,  the  northern  extension  of  the  Atlantic  Coastal  Plain 
which  farther  south  comprises  nearly  one-half  of  our  own  State.  Some 
account  of  the  workings  of  the  Weeks  Law  in  promoting  forest  pro- 
tection in  Hew  Jersey  should  therefore  he  of  special  interest  to  us  in 
ISTorth  Carolina. 

In  his  report*  for  1911,  the  State  Lire  Warden  gives  the  following 
account  of  what  has  been  accomplished: 

“One  thousand  dollars  of  this  Federal  appropriation  was  allotted  to  New 
Jersey  for  1911  and  available  during  the  balance  of  the  calendar  year  for 
the  establishment  of  a forest  fire  patrol.  Under  the  existing  interpretation 
of  the  law,  this  expenditure  was  restricted  to  the  watersheds  in  the  northern 
portion  of  the  State,  and,  since  the  exposure  of  this  section  is  far  less  em- 
phatic in  the  summer  months,  it  was  determined  fo  concentrate  this  year 
on  the  fall  season. 


Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Forest  Park  Reservation  Commission  of  New  Jersey,  for  1911. 


40 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


“The  general  system  fixed  upon  is  a road  patrol,  with  lookout  stations 
upon  the  few  points  available  from  which  a sufficient  outlook  and  reasonably 
prompt  communication  to  the  territory  under  observation  could  be  had. 
After  a thorough  investigation  of  the  area,  44  patrolmen  were  engaged,  each 
assigned  to  a specific  route.  Their  duty  was  to  traverse  these  routes  and 
report  to  the  proper  fire  warden,  or  to  extinguish  themselves  all  fires  seen, 
and  to  apprehend  those  responsible  for  them.  Five  lookout  stations  were  also 
established  from  which  frequent  observations  were  made  each  day. 

“The  fire  watchers  at  these  stations  were  on  duty  every  day  in  October 
and  November,  hut  the  fund  available  was  so  limited  that  it  was  necessary 
to  authorize  the  patrol  only  on  clays  when  the  people  in  the  woods  were  likely 
to  be  most  numerous,  viz.,  holidays  and  hunting  days.  The  patrol  was 
ordered  for  a period  of  fifteen  days  in  all,  covering  these  dates  as  far  as 
possible.  In  actual  service,  however,  the  time  covered  by  all  was  less,  be- 
cause of  the  wet  weather  that  so  often  prevailed,  under  which  conditions 
the  patrol  ceased  automatically.  The  average  time  served  by  each  patrol 
was  but  nine  days,  and  this  brief  service,  linked  with  prevailing  weather 
conditions,  should  properly,  and  does,  account  for  a lower  aggregate  of 
tangible  results  than  had  been  expected.  On  the  other  hand,  the  moral  effect 
of  a body  of  men  known  to  be  on  the  watch  for  fires  and  their  originators  is 
an  item  in  the  account  that  the  future  probably  will  appraise  highly. 

“Despite  the  conditions,  however,  the  patrol  reported  27  fires,  with  the 
significant  feature  that  17  of  them,  found  on  days  and  in  situations  making 
it  quite  probable  that  they  would  have  become  true  forest  fires  without  this 
prompt  attention,  were  put  out  by  the  patrol  themselves,  and  that  a warden 
or  competent  fighting  force  was  notified  of  all  others  in  time  to  prevent  a 
serious  fire.  It  is  particularly  noteworthy  also  that  so  far  there  has  been 
no  fire  reported  from  the  patrolled  section  of  which  mention  is  not  made  by 
some  patrolman. 

“A  continued  and  thorough  supervision  of  the  men  when  on  duty  proved 
that,  with  few  exceptions,  their  work  was  done  conscientiously  throughout, 
and  a canvass  subsequent  to  the  patrol  season  further  showed  that  practi- 
cally all  are  ready  to  serve  again.  The  fall  work  has,  therefore,  accomplished 
these  things:  the  actual  control  of  fires  in  the  patrolled  district;  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  organized  force  available  for  future  use;  the  focusing  of 
public  interest  in  this  section  on  the  forest  fire  problem  in  a way  never 
before  realized ; and,  finally,  though  not  concretely  measurable,  the  stimu- 
lating of  respect  for  the  fire  law  and  of  care  among  forest  users  in  handling 
fire. 

“The  actual  expense  to  the  Federal  Government  has  been  $9S4  (for  patrol 
service  only),  and  the  expense  to  the  State  (for  patrol  organization  and  ad- 
ministration only)  approximately  $492,  in  addition  to  the  cost  of  the  regular 
fire  service.  It  is  believed  that  the  work  already  done  has  paved  the  way  for 
a continuance  of  this  fire  preventative,  so  vastly  preferable  to  the  most 
effective  cure.” 

The  second  year  of  Federal  cooperation  in  J^ew  Jersey  gave  still 
more  satisfactory  results  than  the  first,  not  only  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  number  of  fires  extinguished  as  well  as  prevented,  hut  even  more 
so  from  the  point  of  view  of  its  educational  value. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


41 


The  State  Fire  Warden,  in  reporting  on  the  Federal  Cooperative 
Fire  Patrol  in  1912,  says  in  part:* 

. . During  May  four  patrolmen  and  one  lookout  were  on  duty  along 

some  of  the  most  dangerous  exposures  for  the  purpose,  first,  of  reducing  the 
number  of  fires  escaping  from  these  places,  and  then  of  finding  out  just  how 
great  the  responsibility  of  the  railroads  might  be  from  even  one  small 
locality.  This  patrol  was  maintained  until  October  1st,  with  patrolmen  vary- 
ing in  number  from  four  to  six.  That  the  expense  incurred  by  both  Govern- 
ment and  State  was  justified  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  these  few  patrol- 
men extinguished  an  average  of  IS  fires  per  month,  while  in  July  alone  there 
were  35  fires  put  out.  On  October  1st,  this  organization  was  enlarged  to  a 
patrol  of  eight  men ; for  the  fall  season  their  work  was  laid  out  on  lines 
quite  similar  to  those  of  1911,  with  the  intention  of  assuring  as  great  a 
measure  of  security  as  possible  from  careless  sportsmen,  nut  gatherers,  and 
others  in  the  woods.  . . . During  the  two  months  that  this  patrol  was 

maintained  there  were  20  fires  reported  by  the  patrolmen,  none  of  which 
got  beyond  control.  Most  of  them  the  patrolmen  handled  alone,  while  fire 
fighters  were  secured  for  the  rest.  The  cost  to  the  Federal  Government  for 
the  summer  was  $1,088.50,  and  for  the  fall  $8SS.  This  expenditure  is  balanced 
by  the  State’s  outlay  for  maintaining  its  regular  fire  service. 

“Again,  there  stands  out  the  fact  that  aside  from  all  practical  results 
obtained  upon  the  ground,  this  patrol,  like  that  of  last  year,  has  been  an  im- 
portant factor  in  inducing  greater  care  among  those  who  frequent  the  forests. 
. . . The  continuation  of  such  work  has  aroused  an  interest  in  fire  control 

throughout  the  section  that  could  have  been  obtained  in  no  other  way.” 

Summarizing  these  results,  it  appears  that  Federal  patrol  in  the 
mountainous  part  of  Flew  Jersey,  at  a total  cost  of  less  than  $2,000, 
resulted  in  extinguishing  110  fires.  Allowing  nothing  for  the  fires 
which  were  prevented  and  for  the  interest  aroused  among  the  people 
by  this  patrol,  the  average  cost  of  extinguishing  each  fire  was  about 
$90.  In  the  mountains  of  FTorth  Carolina  last  year  the  average  dam- 
age done  by  each  fire  reported  was  $4,496,  or  about  fifty  times  as  much 
as  it  cost  the  Federal  Government  to  extinguish  fires  in  ISTew  Jersey. 
How  can  we  longer  afford  to  ignore  the  offer  of  such  valuable  assist- 
ance ? 

WISCONSIN. 

Two  of  the  principal  rivers  which  form  the  headwaters  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi take  their  rise  and  run  their  whole  length  within  the  State  of 
‘Wisconsin,  the  “Father  of  Waters”  forming  the  southwestern  border 
of  the  State.  It  was  therefore  most  appropriate  that  part  of  the  appro- 
priation for  assisting  States  in  the  protection  of  the  headwaters  of 
navigable  streams  should  go  to  Wisconsin. 


Eighth  Annual  Report  of  the  Forest  Park  Reservation  Commission  of  New  Jersey,  for  1912. 


42 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


The  State  Forester,  in  his  report  for  1911-1912,  speaks  of  the  Fed- 
eral cooperative  fire  protective  work  as  follows : 

“Wisconsin’s  application  for  assistance  in  protecting  the  headwaters  of 
the  Wisconsin  and  Chippewa  rivers  was  approved  by  the  United  Stales 
Forest  Service,  and  during  the  fire  seasons  of  both  1911  and  1912  the  Wis- 
consin State  Board  of  Forestry  has  been  allowed  $5,000  with  which  to  employ 
Federal  patrolmen. 

“Each  year  from  about  May  1st  to  December  1st,  twelve  Federal  patrolmen 
are  employed  to  assist  an  equal  number  of  forest  rangers  who  are  in  the 
permanent  employ  of  the  State. 

“During  the  fire  season  of  1911  there  was  so  much  rain  that  it  was  not 
necessary  for  the  men  to  devote  much  of  their  time  to  patrol  work,  and 
therefore  it  was  possible  to  make  a great  deal  of  headway  in  starting  the  fire 
protective  system. 

“Twelve  State  forest  rangers,  twelve  Federal  patrolmen,  and  one  private 
patrolman  have  been  engaged  in  the  patrol  work  during  1912.  When  not 
engaged  in  patrol  work  the  men  were  employed  in  building  up  the  protective 
system”  (of  roads,  trails,  telephones,  fire  lines,  lookout  towers,  etc.). 

“The  few  settlers  within  the  protective  area,  as  well  as  the  large  number 
of  summer  visitors,  have  come  to  realize  quite  clearly  the  value  of  the  patrol 
system,  and  are  much  more  careful  in  burning  brush  and  about  leaving  their 
camp-fires  burning. 

“.  . . The  expenditures  in  1912  for  the  patrol  and  protective  work  dur- 

ing the  time  that  the  Federal  patrolmen  were  employed  was  as  follows: 


State  expenditures,  approximately $16,326.00 

Federal  expenditures,  approximately 4,422.00 

Total  $20,748.00 


“The  Federal  expenditures  were  only  for  the  salaries  of  the  Federal  patrol- 
men, while  the  State'  expenditures  covered  the  salaries  of  the  forest  rangers, 
together  with  the  cost  of  building  roads,  fire  lines,  trails,  telephone  lines,  and 
lookout  towers.  One  private  owner  paid  the  salary  of  a patrolman  through- 
out the  entire  fire  season,  and  it  is  expected  that  by  1913  a number  of  other 
private  owners  and  large  timberland  owners  will  cooperate  in  this  way. 

“There  are  no  rural  mail  carriers  within  the  protective  area,  but  in  other 
parts  of  the  State  the  carriers  should  he  a great  assistance  in  promptly 
noting  and  reporting  fires. 

“The  Federal  fire  cooperation  has  been  extremely  valuable  to  Wisconsin, 
especially  for  the  following  reason : The  protective  area  at  the  headwaters 

of  the  Wisconsin  and  Chippewa  rivers  comprises  some  1.260,000  acres,  and  as 
the  State  only  has  12  forest  rangers,  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  them 
to  adequately  patrol  this  large  area,  and  their  work  would  have  been  con- 
fined to  approximately  260,000  acres  of  State  lands,  leaving  1.000.000  acres 
of  privately  owned  lands  unprotected.  With  the  assistance  of  the  12  Federal 
patrolmen,  it  has  been  found  possible  to  divide  the  entire  area  of  1,260,000 
acres  into  districts,  so  that  all  portions,  including  both  State  and  privately 
owned  lands,  have  received  equal  protection. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


43 


“The  1,000,000  acres  of  privately  owned  lands,  many  of  which  are  heavily 
timbered,  are  worth  on  a conservative  basis  at  least  $5  per  acre,  and  there- 
fore it  can  he  stated  that  the  Federal  cooperation  has  enabled  Wisconsin  to 
protect  1,000,000  acres  of  timberland  upon  the  headwaters  of  the  Wisconsin 
and  Chippewa  rivers,  both  of  which  are  important  tributaries  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  and  worth  at  least  .$5,000,000.  which  would  have  been  impossible 
without  this  cooperation.” 

TIMBERLAND  OWNERS’  PROTECTIVE  ASSOCIATIONS. 

The  regulations  for  the  administration  of  the  cooperative  section  of 
the  Weeks  law  require  that  in  order  for  a State  to  obtain  assistance  in 
fire  protection  from  the  Federal  Government  the  cooperation  of  private 
owners  must  he  secured.  This  requirement,  says  Mr.  J.  G.  Peters,  is 
most  satisfactorily  met  by  protective  associations  of  timberland  owners. 

The  U.  S.  Forester,  in  his  report  for  1912,  says  that  “great  progress 
was  made  in  the  fire  protection  cooperative  agreements  with 
associations  of  lumbermen.”  In  an  earlier  publication  of  the  Survey* 
attention  was  called  to  the  good  work  some  of  these  associations  were 
doing,  notably  those  in  the  Northwestern  States.  Because  of  their 
importance  in  a fire  protective  scheme,  and  their  notable  extension  and 
development  even  during  the  past  two  years,  and  also  because  the  pub- 
lication referred  to  is  practically  out  of  print,  some  account  of  their 
operations  is  given  here. 

In  the  March  (1913)  number  of  American  Forestry,  Dr.  Henry  S. 
Drinker,  president  of  the  American  Forestry  Association,  in  an  article 
entitled  “The  Spread  of  the  Forestry  Movement,”  gives  a list  of  Con- 
servation, Timber  Protective,  and  allied  associations  of  the  United 
States.  Eleven  States  are  represented  on  this  list,  which  includes  33 
associations,  nearly  all  of  which  carry  on  cooperative  fire  protection. 
These  associations  are  usually  composed  of  lumbermen  and  other  owners 
of  timberland  whose  property  lies  more  or  less  contiguous  in  some 
definite  county,  district,  or  region.  The  Oregon  associations  usually 
confine  their  operations  to  a certain  county,  or  even  part  of  one;  the 
Idaho  associations  operate  over  one  or  more  watersheds  or  districts, 
while  the  more  easterly  ones  commonly  extend  their  operations  over 
several  counties,  or  definite  forest  regions  of  a State. 

These  associations  all  depend  on  patrol  and  lookouts,  that  is,  on  fire 
prevention,  rather  than  on  extinguishing  fires  after  they  have  gained 
headway.  The  president  of  the  Oregon  Forest  Fire  Association,  which 
organization  does  not  itself  patrol,  but  which  assists,  encourages,  organ- 
izes, and  advises  the  local  patrol  associations,  recently  said  that  the 
policy  pursued  was  to  prevent  fires  rather  than  to  fight  them.  The 


*Economic  Paper  No.  22,  Forest  Fires  and  Their  Prevention,  North  Carolina  G.  and  E.  S.,  1911. 


44 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


policy  of  the  State  Board  of  Forestry  to  so  direct  its  efforts  as  to  en- 
courage owners  to  greater  personal  expenditure,  has,  he  said,  made  for 
better  protection. 

All  expenses  are  met  by  a pro  rata  assessment  on  the  land  to  be  pro- 
tected owned  by  members.  This  assessment  varies  from  one  to  four 
cents  per  acre  per  year,  depending  largely  on  whether  the  fire  season 
is  wet  or  dry. 

COUNTY  FIRE  PATROL  ASSOCIATIONS  IN  OREGON. 

The  State  Forester  of  Oregon  reports*  briefly  on  the  results  accom- 
plished by  several  of  the  county  associations  in  his  State.  He  says  in 
part : 

“The  history  of  the  Coos  County  Fire  Patrol  Association  covers  three  fire 
seasons,  and  during  no  one  of  these  years  has  there  been  material  loss  of 
timber.  The  cost  of  maintaining  patrol  has  been  from  1 to  1 y2  cents  per  acre. 
A good  system  of  trails  and  telephone  lines  has  been  installed  which  makes 
for  efficiency  in  the  work.  The  contributing  acreage  is  approximately  300,000, 
although  the  area  covered  by  the  association’s  patrols  is  much  greater  than 
this.  The  past  season,  twelve  wardens  were  employed  and  no  damaging  fires 
occurred.  The  assessment  for  1912  was  only  one  cent  per  acre. 

“The  Klamath-Lake  Comities  Forest  Fire  Association,  like  the  one  above, 
has  also  had  the  experience  of  three  fire  seasons  to  its  credit.  Its  con- 
tributing acreage,  which  is  in  Klamath  and  Lake  counties,  is  a little  over 
500,000,  though,  like  most  other  associations  of  the  kind,  the  territory  pa- 
trolled is  over  twice  that  contributing.  The  assessment  during  normal  years 
is  one  cent  or  less. 

“The  Jackson  County  Fire  Patrol  Association  is  one  of  the  more  recent 
ones,  having  been  organized  in  1911.  The  work  performed  has,  however,  been 
so  satisfactory  that  the  permanence  of  the  patrol  is  assured.  The  past  sea- 
son the  assessment  was  1%  cents  per  acre,  and  this  fund  together  with  the 
aid  extended  by  the  State  allowed  of  building  33  miles  of  telephone  line,  4 
miles  of  new  trail,  and  the  opening  up  of  15  miles  of  old  trail,  besides  hav- 
ing a force  of  twelve  patrolmen  in  the  field.  The  patrolmen  were  paid  by 
the  association,  State,  and  under  the  Weeks  Law.” 

Five  similar  county  fire  patrol  associations  were  started  in  Oregon 
in  1912.  These  necessarily  spent  considerable  money  on  permanent 
improvements  such  as  telephone  and  lookout  construction,  trail  and 
road  building,  purchase  of  tools  and  supplies.  They  also  patrolled 
nearly  twice  as  much  land  as  was  represented  by  the  membership,  in 
order  to  do  effective  work.  In  spite  of  this,  the  assessments  were  not 
excessive.  One  spent  three  cents  per  acre  and  did  good  work.  Another 
spent  only  one  cent  per  acre,  but  they  found  that  this  was  not  enough 
for  the  first  year.  A third  association  had  an  assessment  of  only  one 

* Second  Annual  Report  of  the  State  Forester  of  Oregon,  1912. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


45 


cent  per  acre  on  480,000  acres  of  timber;  this,  it  was  acknowledged, 
would  not  be  sufficient  in  dry  seasons.  A fourth  organization,  the 
ClacTcamas-Marion  Counties  Fire  Patrol  Association,  showed  splendid 
results  for  the  first  year. 

“Fourteen  companies  or  individuals  joined  in  the  expense  of  patrol  for 
3912,  and  not  only  was  there  no  loss  of  timber,  but  the  assessment  was  kept 
down  to  one  cent  per  acre,  fire-fighting  equipment  was  installed  in  each  patrol 
district,  16  miles  of  old  trail  was  opened  up  and  17  miles  of  new  trail  con- 
structed. 

“Over  400,000  acres  of  timber  was  patrolled  by  eight  men  and  a head 
warden.  No  assistance  was  secured  from  the  county,  but  the  State  through 
its  funds  and  those  furnished  under  the  Weeks  Law  paid  the  head  warden 
and  part  of  the  salaries  of  several  other  wardens.” 

The  Columbia,  County  Fire  Patrol  Association,  though  “starting  patrol  late 
in  the  season  of  1912,  made  a most  excellent  record.  Under  private  manage- 
ment good  protection  had  been  given,  and  owners  were  alive  to  the  need  for 
providing  adequate  funds  if  good  results  were  to  be  expected. 

“The  county  contains  some  360,000  acres  of  land  requiring  protection. 
Membership  representing  approximately  150.000  acres  or  21  firms  or  indi- 
viduals, was  readily  secured,  and  this  acreage  undertook  the  protection  of  all 
the  timber.  Two  head  wardens  and  eighteen  patrolmen  were  employed,  mak- 
ing the  average  patrol  district  20,000  acres.  The  assessment  was  3%  cents 
per  acre,  and  in  addition  to  patrol,  telephone  material  for  4 miles  of  line  was 
purchased,  and  80  miles  of  old  trail  opened  up.  Though  many  small  fires 
occurred,  these  were  competently  handled  by  the  wardens,  and  no  loss  of 
timber  worthy  of  mention  resulted. 

“The  county  court  extended  valuable  aid,  contributing  $600  to  the  patrol 
association,  and  the  State,  by  assisting  in  paying  the  two  head  wardens  and 
furnishing  two  Federal  patrolmen,  undoubtedly  made  possible  a better  showing 
than  could  otherwise  be  reported.  In  fact,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  during  the 
first  season,  had  no  outside  aid  been  secured,  the  association  would  have 
worked  a hardship  on  those  contributing  because  of  the  considerable  area 
which  failed  to  pay  its  just  share  of  expense.  Another  season  additional 
membership  is  considered  a certainty.” 

IDAHO  TIMBER  PROTECTIVE  ASSOCIATIONS. 

Besides  cooperating  with  Timber  Land  Owners’  Associations  through 
the  iSTational  Forest  Administration,  and  through  the  operation  of  the 
Weeks  Law,  the  Federal  Government  sometimes  joins  the  association 
and  cooperates  as  a land-owning  member.  An  official  of  the  Clear- 
water Fire  Protective  Association  of  Idaho  describes  the  attitude  of  the 
Government  in  this  kind  of  cooperation  as  follows : 

“We  prorate  the  amount  of  property  that  we  have  within  a township  and 
pay  on  that  basis — for  instance,  if  we  have  two-thirds  the  timber  in  a town- 
ship we  do  not  cooperate  with  the  Government,  but  take  care  of  this  our- 
selves, as  well  as  the  other  one-third  belonging  to  the  Government,  and  they 


46 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


pay  us  according  to  the  cost  of  protection ; if  it  costs  us  6 cents  per  acre,  it 
would  cost  the  Government  6 cents  per  acre,  and  vice  verm.  Where  the 
Government  has  two-thirds  of  the  timber  and  we  one-third,  they  usually  pro- 
tect for  us;  in  fact,  everybody  who  belongs  to  the  Clearwater  Fire  Protective 
Association  pays  per  acre,  prorated  on  the  total  cost  of  protection.  If  it  is 
two  cents  to  the  Clearwater  Timber  Company,  it  is  two  cents  to  every  other 
organization  or  individual,  the  State  of  Idaho  and  the  Government,  all  alike.” 

He  then  continues,  describing  the  general  methods  of  this  association, 
which  are  similar  to  those  of  the  other  Idaho  associations : 

“We  make  our  assessments  as  we  need  the  money.  We  try  to  keep  enough 
in  the  bank  to  pay  our  bills,  but  we  don’t  keep  any  great  surplus.  Our 
method  of  protection  is  to  put  out  the  fire  before  it  starts — what  I mean  by 
this  is,  we  have  our  patrolmen  so  located  that  they  can  see  a fire  when  it 
originates  at  any  time  of  day,  and  we  are  so  fixed  that  they  can  reach 
a fire  within  at  least  four  hours,  and  of  course  a good  number  of  them  can 
be  reached  within  one-half  hour.  In  this  way  there  is  no  great  danger  of  fire 
spreading  before  the  patrolmen  can  get  it  under  control.” 

PROTECTION  IN  MONTANA. 

The  highest  efficiency  is  secured  where  the  closest  cooperation  can 
be  carried  out  between  timberland  owners’  associations,  the  State  fire 
protective  system,  the  Federal  Government,  and  the  railroads.  This 
is  being  done  in  many  of  the  northern  and  western  States.  Montana 
furnishes  a good  example  of  such  cooperation.  At  the  second  annual 
meeting  of  the  Northern  Montana  Forestry  Association,  recently  held, 
the  Fire  Warden  referred  to  “a  cooperative  agreement  between  the 
association  and  the  State  and  Federal  Government,”  and  stated  that 
the  cooperative  fire  districts,  known  as  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3,  cover  an  area, 
of  964,160  acres,  the  area  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Northern  Mon- 
tana Forestry  Association  proper  being  359,662  acres.  The  member- 
ship of  the  association  was  shown  to  be  184,  an  increase  of  100  mem- 
bers since  the  last  preceding  report  and  an  acreage  increase  of  165,692 
acres. 

‘‘Eight  fires  had  occurred  within  the  association’s  cooperative  dis- 
trict during  1912,  four  of  which  were  handled  and  placed  under  con- 
trol by  the  association  and  four  by  the  Government.  The  total  area 
burned  was  251  acres,  5,000  feet  of  timber  being  damaged,  of  value 
$15,  the  cost  of  fighting  the  fires  totaling  $65.80.  Of  these  fires,  one 
was  caused  by  lightning,  three  by  parties  clearing  land,  one  by  locomo- 
tive sparks,  and  the  other  three  due  to  miscellaneous  causes.  The 
report  expressed  appreciation  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway  Com- 
pany’s cooperation,  and  stated  that  an  assessment  of  one-half  cent  an 
acre  was  levied  against  the  members  in  1912  on  359,662  acres.”* 

* American  Lumberman,  February  22,  1913. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


47 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE  TIMBERLAND  OWNERS’  PROTECTIVE  ASSOCIATION. 

The  largest  and  best  known  association  of  this  kind  in  the  East  is 
the  New  Hampshire  Timberland  Owners’  Protective  Association. f It 
was  organized  early  in  1911,  representing  “an  ownership  of  about  one 
million  acres.  Each  member  is  assessed  one  cent  per  acre  per  year 
and  the  funds  used  for  fire  prevention.  The  association  employed  a 
trained  forester  to  supervise  all  field  work,  cooperate  with  the  State 
Forester,  and  properly  coordinate  the  work  of  the  association  with  the 
State  and  Federal  work. 

“During  the  fire  seasons  of  1911  and  1912,  the  association  has  em- 
ployed a large  number  of  patrolmen,  placed  caches  of  fire-fighting  tools 
in  places  where  they  will  be  useful  in  case  of  fire,  built  telephone  lines 
and  lookout  stations,  improved  trails  and  camps,  and  in  every  way 
admirably  supplemented  the  work  of  the  Forestry  Commission.  The 
patrol  of  the  association  has  been  particularly  effective.” 

Probably  the  association  that  patrols  the  largest  area  is  the  Northern 
Forest  Protective  Association,  which  operated  in  northern  Michigan. 
Last  year  Mr.  Wyman,  the  secretary-forester,  had* *  “a  force  of  21 
mounted  rangers  in  the  field,  and  they  kept  an  oversight  over  lands  in 
13  of  the  15  upper  peninsular  counties.  Some  2,000,000  acres  of  lands 
are  represented  in  the  association,  but  the  ranger  work  covers  much 
additional  acreage,  and,  of  necessity,  is  of  great  benefit  to  landowners 
who  are  not  members  of  the  association.  The  prevention  of  fires  in 
such  a great  area  would  seem  impracticable  with  such  a small  force 
of  rangers.  As  a matter  of  fact,  there  are  areas  of  particularly  marked 
hazards  which  it  is  necessary  to  guard,  while  the  fire  hazard  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  acreage  is  comparatively  small,  and  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  give  it  much  attention. 

“The  most  important  phase  of  the  association’s  work  is  the  educa- 
tional phase.  ...  We  spend  considerable  money  on  publicity,  warn- 
ing visitors  to  the  woods  of  the  necessity  of  caution  in  handling  fires, 
and  our  rangers  give  much  time  to  personal  work  with  homesteaders 
and  other  settlers  along  this  line.” 

LUMBER  MANUFACTURERS’  ASSOCIATION  TAKES  UP  ACTUAL  PROTECTION. 

The  Michigan  Hardwood  Manufacturers’  Association  has  set  a splen- 
did example  to  other  associations  of  lumber  manufacturers  in  taking 
up  the  actual  protection  of  timberlands  belonging  to  its  members. 
Organized  in  1906  as  a purely  lumberman’s  association,  it  last  year 
formed  a Forest  Fire  Protective  Department  and  employed  a Chief 


f Report  of  the  New  Hampshire  Forestry  Commission,  191 1-’  12. 

* Michigan  Roads  and  Forests,  1913. 


48 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


Fire  Warden.  His  report,  made  at  the  recent  annual  spring  meeting, 
showed  that  the  cost  of  protection  last  year  was  4 cents  an  acre,  which 
was  levied  in  two  assessments  of  2 cents  each.  In  his  opinion,  one 
assessment  of  3 cents  an  acre  would  be  sufficient  for  this  year.  The 
bureau  had  in  its  charge  about  300,000  acres  of  timber  land  for  the 
present  year. 

The  efficiency  of  the  patrol  service  of  this  association  has  been  greatly 
increased  by  the  purchase  of  an  automobile  specially  designed  for  this 
purpose.  It  is  equipped  with  a special  body  so  that  a number  of  men 
can  be  carried,  as  well  as  tools,  etc.,  for  fire  fighting. 

The  results  of  this  important  and  progressive  departure  of  the  Michi- 
gan hardwood  manufacturers  will  he  watched  with  interest  by  the  many 
similar  organizations  all  over  the  country;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
some  of  them  will  not  he  slow  to  follow  its  example. 

The  value  of  associations  for  fire  protection  and  the  estimation  in 
which  they  are  generally  held  by  the  intelligent  public  is  so  well  ex- 
pressed by  a short  editorial  in  the  American  Lumberman  for  May  31, 
1913,  that  it  is  here  given: 

“Few  organizations  have  more  promptly  justified  their  creation  than  have 
the  numerous  forest  fire  protective  associations.  Almost  without  exception 
they  have  paid  immense  dividends  on  the  funds  they  have  expended  in  saving 
valuable  timbered  tracts  from  serious  damage  or  total  destruction. 

“Much  of  the  trail-making  and  installing  of  means  of  quick  communication 
has  been  of  a permanent  character,  involving  heavier  annual  outlays  than 
will  be  necessary  after  these  essential  facilities  have  once  been  provided. 
Even  with  these  heavy  initial  expenditures,  however,  the  cost  of  forest  pro- 
tection has  been  negligible  in  comparison  with  some  other  forms  of  insurance ; 
while  for  timber  it  is  the  only  form  of  insurance  available. 

“The  effective  work  of  these  organizations  has  won  them  loyal  moral  and 
financial  support  from  timber  owners  and  from  the  public  generally.  But 
this  support  is  needed  more  and  more  as  the  population  increases  in  forested 
regions.  To  the  lumberman  the  forest  is  everything;  to  the  citizens  of  lum- 
bering States  it  is  hardly  less.  Every  agency  designed  to  protect  the  forests 
from  fire,  therefore,  deserves,  and  if  the  results  of  their  splendid  work  is  but 
known  cannot  fail  to  win,  the  support  of  everybody.” 

COOPERATION  WITH  RAILROADS. 

In  the  preceding  pages  the  valuable  cooperation  furnished  by  some 
of  the  railroads  has  been  referred  to  more  than  once.  The  IJ.  S. 
Forester,  in  speaking  of  the  protection  of  the  National  Forests,  says 
that  great  progress  was  made  in  the  fire  protection  cooperative  agree- 
ment with  railroads.  Several  railroads  are  using  oil-burning  locomo- 
tives in  heavily  timbered  districts,  and  many  are  clearing  their  rights 


FOREST  FIRES  IX  XORTH  CAROLIXA. 


49 


of  way  of  inflammable  debris.  These  cooperative  agreements  mean,  in 
many  instances,  the  material  supplementing  of  the  fire  protective  force 
on  the  National  forests  during  the  summer  months. 

Cooperation  with  some  of  the  railroads  in  fire  protection  has  been 
arranged  by  many  of  the  States  which  have  protective  systems  of  their 
own,  but  only  after  laws  have  been  enacted  requiring  the  railroads  to 
take  some  definite  steps  to  prevent  fires,  such  as  to  use  spark  arresters, 
clear  their  rights  of  way  or  patrol  their  lines  in  dry  weather.  In  no 
case,  however,  so  far  as  is  known,  have  the  railroads  voluntarily,  with- 
out'fear  of  compulsion,  taken  the  first  step.  Three  or -four  examples 
of  cooperation  by  the  railroads  with  the  State  authorities  in  adopting 
one  or  more  of  the  above  named  definite  means  of  reducing  fires  result- 
ing from  sparks  from  their  engines  are  here  given. 

PATROL  AND  PROTECTIOX  OF  RIGHTS  OF  WAT  BY  RAILROADS. 

In  New  Hampshire , “a  few  years  ago,  the  Maine  Central  Railroad 
began  systematic  work  for  fire  prevention,  viz.,  making  it  the  duty  of 
one  man  in  each  section  crew  to  patrol  the  track,  following  trains. 
This  work  was  especially  effective  during  the  dry  season  of  1911, 
patrolmen  being  provided  with  velocipedes  so  that  they  could  keep 
their  section  well  covered.  They  would  carry  on  these  velocipedes  a 
shovel  or  hoe,  a bucket  of  water  and  a mop,  to  put  out  small  fires. 

On  account  of  the  heavy  grades,  this  company  has  recently 
been  using  a number  of  oil-burning  engines,  and  these  entirely  elimi- 
nate the  fire  risk  for  the  trains  on  which  they  are  used.” 

Last  year  another  railroad  in  New  Hampshire  made  an  agreement 
with  the  Forestry  Commission  covering  the  following  points: 

1.  Section  foremen  to  be  appointed  deputy  fire  wardens. 

2.  Township  wardens  to  cooperate  with  section  men  in  extinguish- 
ing railroad  fires. 

3.  Fires  to  be  reported  to  station  agents,  who  will  secure  assistance 
to  extinguish  them. 

4.  Railroad  officials  will  post  fire  warning  notices. 

5.  Railroads  will  blow  warning  signal  of  one  long  and  three  short 
whistles  on  passing  fire. 

In  Minnesota  the  railroads  “which  traverse  regions  where  fires  are 
probable  were  required  to  put  on  patrolmen  during  dangerous  periods. 
The  latter  were  to  follow  on  speeders  the  day  trains  and  to  extinguish 
while  small  any  fires  which  might  be  set.  . . . Railroad  officials,  for 

practically  all  roads  traversing  the  forested  area  of  the  State,  showed 


50 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


themselves  willing,  in  promise  and  practice,  to  conform  to  any  reason- 
able demand  for  patrol  service  made  upon  them  by  the  State  Forest 
Service.” 

New  Jersey  furnishes  one  of  the  best  examples  of  the  clearing  of 
rights  of  way  by  railroads.  A law  passed  in  1909  required  railroads 
to  build  thoroughly  effective  fire  lines  on  each  side  of  their  track 
through  woodlands.  Much  good  work  was  done  in  compliance  with 
this  law;  but  unfortunately  it  was  subsequently  declared  defective.  The 
State  Fire  Warden  reported  in  1911  that  though  the  state  of  uncer- 
tainty, due  to  the  questionable  status  of  the  law,  was  deplorable,  “the 
situation  has  elements  of  encouragement,  chief  among  them  being  the 
voluntary  extension  of  their  fire  lines  by  the  ISTew  Jersey  Central  Rail- 
road, by  the  Atlantic  City  Railroad,  and,  to  a limited  extent,  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

“With  respect  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  fire  lines,  the  fire  wardens’ 
reports  have  but  one  tale  to  tell,  namely,  that  wherever  they  have  been 
established  serious  forest  fires  have  not  occurred,  while  outside  the  lines 
some  bad  ones  have  begun.” 

In  his  1912  report  the  State  Fire  Warden  again  comments  on  this 
situation : 

“Although  the  temporary  nullification  of  the  law  is  hampering  the  construc- 
tion and  maintenance  of  the  fire  lines  to  a large  degree,  it  is  again  cheering 
to  note  that  the  railroads,  more  particularly  the  Xew  Jersey  Central,  con- 
tinue their  policy  of  voluntary  fire-line  construction. 

“There  have  been,  again,  one  or  two  instances  in  which  a fire  has  started 
from  a spark  thrown  clear  beyond  the  fire  line,  but  as  heretofore  these  cases 
are  so  rare  and  occur  under  conditions  so  unusual,  as  to  wind  and  atmos- 
phere, that  they  in  no  way  argue  against  the  value  of  the  fire  line  in  con- 
trolling railroad  fires. 

“The  outlook  for  next  year’s  work  is  highly  encouraging  in  that  three 
roads*  the  Atlantic  City,  New  Jersey  Central,  and  Pennsylvania,  have  already 
indicated  their  desire  to  make  appreciable  additions  to  their  mileage  of  fire 
lines,  and  the  latter  its  intention  to  put  into  first-class  shape  the  total  mileage 
that  is  now  completed  along  its  lines.” 

USE  OF  SPARK  ARRESTERS  BT  RAILROADS. 

Laws  requiring  tlie  use  of  spark  arresters  are  in  force  in  one-tbird 
of  tbe  States  of  tbe  Union,  and  mucb  good  is  being  accomplisbed 
through  them,  though  it  is  admitted  by  all  parties  that,  as  used  at 
present  on  railroad  locomotives,  spark  arresters  are  not  entirely  satis- 
factory. According  to  the  State  Forester  of  that  State,  Wisconsin  has 
“one  of  the  strongest  and  most  practical  laws  in  the  country  for  reduc- 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


51 


ing  the  number  of  forest  fires  set  by  railway  locomotives,  donkey,  trac- 
tion, and  portable  engines.”  Among  other  things,  it  provides  that1 — 

‘‘Between  March  1st  and  December  1st  all  logging  locomotives,  donkey, 
traction,  or  portable  engines  which  are  operated  in,  through,  or  near  forest, 
brush,  or  grass  land,  and  which  do  not  bum  oil  as  fuel,  must  be  equipped 
with  screens  or  wire  netting  on  top  of  the  smokestack,  and  so  constructed  as 
to  give  the  most  practicable  protection  against  the  escape  of  sparks  and 
cinders.  . . . The  great  value  of  this  provision  of  the  law  will  be  at 

once  apparent  to  any  forester,  as  it  compels  every  locomotive  which  is 
operated  through  the  forests  to  be  equipped  with  the  oldest,  simplest,  and 
yet  by  far  the  most  effective  device  for  preventing  the  escape  of  sparks  or 
cinders,  namely,  a screen  or  hood  over  the  smokestack. 

“The  main  causes  of  railroad  fires  are  sparks,  which  escape  from  the  smoke- 
stacks, and  live  coals,  which  are  dropped  by  the  ash  pans.  The  Chicago  and 
Northwestern  Railway  has  been  cooperating  with  the  State  for  the  last  three 
years  in  an  endeavor  to  perfect  a spark  arrester  which  would  prove  entirely 
satisfactory  in  preventing  the  escape  of  sparks,  and  though  great  progress 
has  been  made,  complete  success  has  not  been  secured  as  yet.  It  is  a com- 
paratively simple  matter  to  get  an  arrester  that  will  stop  a locomotive  from 
throwing  sparks,  but  very  difficult  to  find  one  that  will  also  allow  the  engine 
to  steam  freely  and  pull  its  load. 

“The  State  Board  of  Forestry  has  a locomotive  inspector  who  devotes  his 
entire  time  from  March  1st  to  December  1st  to  inspecting  locomotives  in  the 
forest  regions  of  the  State,  and  he  is  constantly  working  with  the  railroad 
officials  to  perfect  improved  devices.” 

Tbe  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Eailway,  says  tbe  State  Forester, 
now  uses  tbe  Slater  box  front  end  on  nearly  all  of  tbeir  engines  oper- 
ating in  tbe  forest  reserve  regions.  Tbis  front  end  is  a big  improve- 
ment over  tbe  old  style.  Less  sparks  are  thrown  from  tbe  stack  and 
less  than  5 per  cent  of  tbe  sparks  are  alive  when  they  strike  tbe  ground. 
Tbe  engine  crews  state  that  they  are  harder  to  steam  with,  however, 
and  use  more  fuel  than  tbe  old  style.  Tbe  Great  Northern  Eailway 
has  experimented  during  1912  with  a new  spark  arrester  which  is 
known  as  tbe  Cannon  or  Conical  front  end.  Tbe  engine  crews  do  not 
appear  to  find  fault  with  tbis  arrester. 

Tbe  conclusions  of  tbe  State  Forester  are  particularly  interesting 
because  they  show  tbe  true  spirit  of  cooperation  which  animates  both 
tbe  railroads  and  tbe  State  forest  officers.  He  says : 

“The  railroads  of  Wisconsin,  particularly  withiu  the  protective  area,  have 
shown  a keen  interest  in  cooperating  in  fire  prevention,  and  after  several 
years  efforts,  and  the  expenditure  of  thousands  of  dollars,  they  have  devel- 
oped spark  arresters  which,  although  not  perfect,  are  a long  step  in  advance 
and  have  reduced  the  number  of  forest  fires  set  by  railroad  locomotives  to  a 


1 Report  of  State  Forester  of  Wisconsin,  1911  and  1912. 


52 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


very  marked  degree.  The  law  now  provides  that  all  locomotives  on  main 
lines  must  be  equipped  with  the  most  efficient  spark  arresters,  and  that 
locomotives  on  branch  lines  or  spurs  in  the  forest  region  must  have  screens 
over  the  smokestacks,  so  as  absolutely  to  prevent  the  escape  of  all  sparks. 
This  last  provision  of  the  law  has  worked  particularly  well,  and  during  1911 
and  1912  the  railroads  did  not  cause  a single  bad  forest  fire  in  the  protective 
area.  The  railroads  have  also  appointed  inspectors  at  each  division  point 
and  roundhouse,  whose  duty  it  is  to  examine  each  locomotive  each  day  dur- 
ing the  fire  season,  in  order  to  see  that  all  spark  arresters  and  screens  are 
in  good  condition.” 

The  efficiency  of  spark  arresters  on  railroad  locomotives,  now  being 
experimented  with  or  in  use  by  the  railroads  of  the  United  States,  was 
recently  investigated  by  Prof.  R.  C.  Hawley  of  the  Yale  Forest  School. 
At  the  request  of  the  Forester  of  the  North  Carolina  Geological  and 
Economic  Survey,  Professor  Hawley  has  prepared  a short  article  on 
this  subject,  which  has  already  been  issued  in  an  abridged  form  as 
Press  Bulletin  110.  The  complete  article  appears  in  the  appendix  to 
this  report  (page  55). 

CONCLUSIONS. 

In  order  to  successfully  control  forest  fires,  two  means  are  absolutely 
necessary,  namely,  organization  and  cooperation.  The  value  of  organi- 
zation has  been  realized  ever  since  the  first  definite  steps  were  taken  to 
control  fires,  and  the  formation  of  State  and  National  fire  warden 
systems  has  been  the  natural  result.  It  is  only  within  the  past  two 
or  three  years,  however — in  fact,  only  since  the  passage  of  the  Weeks 
Law  and  the  subsequent  carrying  out  of  section  2 of  this  measure — - 
that  the  necessity  for  cooperation  in  fire  prevention  has  been  demon- 
strated. 

In  the  States  containing  National  Forests,  North  Carolina  among 
them,  the  Federal  Government  stands  ready  to  cooperate  with  the  State 
in  fire  protection  in  three  ways : either  as  an  ordinary  land-holder,  or 
through  the  National  Forest  administration,  or  else  through  the  work- 
ing of  the  Weeks  Law.  Frequently  two  or  all  three  of  these  avenues  of 
assistance  are  open,  and  are  used.  In  States  where  there  are  no 
National  forests,  assistance  can  usually  be  gained  under  the  Weeks 
Law.  But  the  State  must  take  the  first  step.  Where  State  protection 
has  been  organized,  the  timber  owners  and  lumbermen  have  not  been 
slow  to  take  their  part  in  a scheme  of  cooperative  fire  protection. 
Railroads  also  have  in  many  cases  shown  a willingness  to  cooperate 
with  the  State  authorities  after  they  have  found  out  that  the  State  is 
in  earnest  in  its  efforts  to  prevent  forest  fires,  and  all  of  them  will  no 
doubt  gradually  fall  in  line. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


53 


But  the  whole  scheme  of  cooperation  depends  entirely  on  the  atti- 
tude and  action  of  the  individual  States.  The  United  States  Forest 
Service  says  that  the  States  should  take  the  lead.  The  States  them- 
selves can  well  make  that  stronger,  and  say  that  the  States  must  take 
the  lead. 

The  people  of  North  Carolina  wish  to  prevent  forest  fires,  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  the  lumbermen,  and  even  some  of  the  railroads  stand 
ready  to  cooperate  in  fire  protection;  the  State  of  ISTorth  Carolina, 
therefore,  should  and  must  take  the  lead. 


APPENDIX. 


SPARK  ARRESTERS  ON  RAILROAD  LOCOMOTIVES. 

By  Pkof.  R.  C.  Hawley,  of  the  Yale  Forest  School. 

In  the  United  States  at  the  present  time  between  25  and  50  per  cent  of 
the  forest  fires  are  started  by  sparks  from  railroad  locomotives.  Large 
amounts,  often  exceeding  $50,000  on  single  lines,  are  paid  annually  by 
the  railroads  in  settlement  of  damage  claims. 

It  has  long  been  recognized  that  railway  locomotives  increase  the  fire 
hazard  both  to  forest  property  and  to  buildings,  and  efforts  have  been 
made  to  prevent  the  escape  of  sparks  by  the  use  of  screens.  An  inves- 
tigation made  in  1911  showed  that  out  of  forty-one  States  reporting, 
sixteen  required  by  law  that  screens  for  arresting  sparks  be  placed  in 
railway  locomotives.  Seventeen  States  do  not  require  this  by  law,  and 
eight  States  reported  that  while  not  required  by  law,  yet  the  railroads 
equipped  all  locomotives  with  such  devices.  As  a matter  of  fact,  this 
is  the  case  over  practically  the  entire  country. 

These  screens  are  so  placed  in  the  smokestacks  or  in  the  front  end 
of  the  locomotives  as  to  arrest  any  sparks  that  might  be  carried  out  of 
the  stack.  This  sounds  very  simple,  and  at  first  thought  it  would  seem 
as  though  fires  set  by  sparks  from  railroad  locomotives  ought  to  be 
uncommon,  since  practically  all  locomotives  have  screens.  The  truth 
of  the  matter  is  that  these  screens,  as  often  required  by  law  and  cus- 
tomarily used  on  railroads,  do  not  efficiently  perform  this  function  of 
arresting  fire-bearing  sparks.  In  order  to  explain  why  this  is  so,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  briefly  describe  the  interior  arrangement  and  working 
of  the  ordinary  railway  locomotive. 

Locomotives  cast  more  sparks  than  other  types  of  power  plants  de- 
veloping the  same  amount  of  power.  A locomotive  is  constructed  with 
the  primary  idea  of  developing  enormous  power  in  small  compass  with- 
out. regard  for  such  things  as  spark  loss,  smoke  emission,  etc.  The 
modern  engines  often  burn  5,000  pounds  of  coal  per  hour  when  being 
operated.  Only  in  forges  or  furnaces  employed  for  metallurgical  pur- 
poses are  fires  burned  with  greater  intensity  than  in  locomotives.  This 
is  accomplished  by  creating  a forced  draft  of  high  velocity.  Unless 
such  a draft  is  maintained  the  power  of  the  engine  is  crippled.  This 
draft  passes  up  from  beneath  the  grate  through  the  fire-box  and  boiler 
tubes  into  the  smoke  box,  a large  open  space  in  the  front  end  of  the 
locomotive  just  ahead  of  the  boiler  and  under  the  smokestack,  and 


56 


FOREST  FIRES  1ST  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


finally  out  of  tlie  smokestack.  So  powerful  is  this  draft  that  pieces  of 
fuel  are  carried  along  and  may  be  cast  out  of  the  stack  in  the  form  of 
sparks.  From  5 to  20  per  cent  of  the  fuel  may  be  carried  by  the  draft 
into  the  front  end  of  the  locomotive.  The  number  and  size  of  the  pieces 
of  fuel  picked  up  and  blown  out  as  sparks  depends  on  the  force  of  the 
draft  and  the  character  of  the  fuel.  Wood  and  soft  coal  will  give  more 
sparks  than  anthracite  coal. 

To  prevent  the  pieces  of  fuel  or  cinders  from  being  thrown  from  the 
stack,  screens  of  woven  wire  or  perforated  iron  plates  are  placed  in 
the  smoke  box  of  the  engine.  Through  this  screen  the  draft  rushes : 
the  large  cinders  strike  against  it,  rebound,  and  continue  this  process 
until  finally  beaten  into  small  enough  pieces  to  go  through  the  screen. 

These  screens  to  be  satisfactory  must  meet  two  conditions : 

1st.  Have  small  enough  openings  so  that  no  live  spark  can  pass 
through. 

2d.  Be  sufficiently  large  so  that  the  screen  will  not  clog  up  and  the 
draft  he  interfered  with. 

The  best  compromise  between  these  two  rather  conflicting  conditions 
calls  for  openings  in  the  screen  of  not  over  one-fourth  inch  across,  with 
about  two  and  one-half  to  three  meshes  of  wire  to  the  inch. 

Such  a screen  if  in  perfect  condition  should  prevent  the  passage  of 
practically  all  live  sparks.  Its  disadvantages  are  that  it  is  difficult  to 
keep  in  perfect  condition  because  it  burns  out  readily  and  may  warp 
and  make  openings  around  the  edges.  With  certain  types  of  fuel,  such 
as  some  lignite  coals,  the  screen  may  clog  so  badly  as  to  seriously  cur- 
tail the  draft  and  hence  the  steaming  power  of  the  locomotive.  That 
these  screens  are  not  fully  efficient  in  stopping  the  casting  of  sparks  is 
abundantly  proved  over  and  over  again  during  every  forest  fire  season. 

During  the  last  few  years  the  increasing  interest  in  forestry  and 
greater  attention  given  to  suppressing  forest  fires  has  resulted  in  more 
thought  being  put  on  the  development  of  a really  satisfactory  spark 
arrester : one  which  would  actually  stop  all  sparks  and  at  the  same  time 
not  interfere  with  the  draft.  Private  individuals  and  the  railroads 
themselves  have  been  working  on  the  problem  with  such  success  that 
there  are  on  the  market  to-day  several  spark  arresters  much  more 
efficient  than  the  old-style  screens,  though  no  arrester  for  railway 
locomotives  is  as  yet  on  the  market  which  can  he  said  to  fully  cover 
the  needs  of  the  case. 

A few  of  the  better  spark  arresters  are  briefly  described  and  names 
of  the  concerns  manufacturing  them  can  be  secured  on  application. 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


57 


MUDGE-SLATER  SPARK  ARRESTER  OR  LOCOMOTIVE  BOX  FRONT  END. 

This  is  a modification  of  the  standard  screen  arrangement.  The 
smokestack  is  extended  down  into  the  smoke  box  of  the  engine  and  to 
the  lower  end  of  the  stack  is  attached  a box  with  top,  bottom,  and  back 
of  sheet  steel  and  sides  of  woven  wire  netting.  The  advantages  over 
the  old  arrangement  are  that  the  parts  are  much  more  carefully  joined 
together,  and  will  not  warp ; the  arrester  is  very  easy  to  work  around 
and  keep  in  condition.  It  can  be  taken  right  out  of  the  engine  and 
brought  into  court  in  damage  suits,  and  better  steaming  of  the  engines- 
fitted  with  these  arresters  is  claimed.  Over  one  thousand  of  these 
arresters  are  in  use  on  the  engines  of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern 
Railroad.  State  Forester  Griffith  of  Wisconsin  recommends  the 
arresters  as  giving  very  good  service. 

RADLEY-HUNTER  STACK. 

This  arrester  is  also  in  actual  use,  especially  on  logging  railways. 
A special  smokestack  must  be  used  containing  the  arrester.  This  stack 
is  equipped  with  an  iron  cone  (B)  against  which  sparks  strike  in  com- 
ing up  the  stack.  They  are  deflected  with  a spiral  motion  toward  the 
sides  of  the  stack,  where  they  pass  through  a perforated  screen  (C). 
They  are  then  beyond  the  strongest  draft  and  fall  into  a receiving- 

chamber  (D),  from  which  they  can 
be  drawn  off.  Sparks  may  rebound 
from  C or  lighter  ones  never  strike 
it  and  be  carried  higher  up  the 
stack,  where  they  are  intercepted 
by  a screen  (E)  projecting  straight 
down  from  the  top  edge  of  the 
stack.  There  is  at  all  times  an 
absolutely  free  passage  for  the 
draft,  and  clogging  of  the  screen 
is  avoided.  This  arrester  is  espe- 
cially good  for  soft  fuel  where 
danger  of  clogging  is  found.  For 
stopping  sparks,  the  arrester  de- 
pends on  throwing  the  sparks  out 
of  the  strongest  current  of  the 
draft  and  either  retaining  them  in 
the  receiving  pit  or  breaking  them 
up  by  impact  against  plate  and 
I i 1 screen. 


58 


FOREST  FIRES  IN  FT ORTH  CAROLINA. 


VAN  HORN-ENDSLEY  SPARK  ARRESTER. 

This  arrester,  by  means  of  a spiral  plate  placed  in  the  smoke  bos 
just  ahead  of  the  boiler  tubes,  imparts  a rotary  motion  to  the  gases  and 
cinders  carried  by  the  draft  through  the  flues.  The  spiral  plate  finally 
is  stopped  by  a vertical  partition  right  across  the  smoke  box,  the  only 
outlet  being  a hole  in  the  middle  of  the  partition.  Through  this  hole 
the  gases  escape  and  pass  up  the  smokestack,  but  the  cinders,  being 
heavier,  have  been  carried  by  the  rotary  motion  (centrifugal  force) 
around  the  outside  of  the  locomotive  shell,  and  finally  are  stopped  by 
the  partition.  They  then  fall  by  gravity  into  a hopper,  which  can  be 
emptied  as  required.  The  arrester  separates  the  cinders  from  the  gases 
by  means  of  a rotary  motion  and  provides  two  outlets,  one  for  gases 
and  the  other  for  cinders.  There  are  no  screens  to  impede  the  draft. 
As  yet  this  arrester  is  not  used  extensively,  having  been  but  recently 
perfected  and  patented.  In  trials  it  has  worked  very  successfully,  and 
may  prove  to  be  the  best  arrester  of  sparks  yet  devised. 

WESTRALIAN  ROTARY  SPARK  ARRESTER, 

The  Westralian  Rotary  Spark  Arrester  consists  of  a rectangular  box 
placed  on  top  of  the  smokestack.  This  box  contains  two  wheels  (re- 
sembling paddle  wheels),  with  eight  long  arms  covered  with  wire  net- 
ting. These  wheels  are  so  arranged  that  as  they  revolve  the  arms  inter- 
lock. When  the  locomotive  is  moving  the  wheels  revolve  downward 
against  the  uprushing  draft.  The  netting  allows  all  gases  to  pass 
through,  but  catches  the  sparks  and  drops  them  into  chutes  on  each 
side  of  the  smokestack. 

The  arrester  is  not  in  actual  use  on  any  railroads  in  the  United 
States,  but  has  been  used  in  Australia  and  other  foreign  countries.  It 
is  now  being  tried  out  at  Purdue  University. 

Many  other  arresters  have  been  patented  and  are  in  use,  but  the  few 
above  described  illustrate  the  different  types  so  far  invented. 

If  fires  set  by  locomotives  are  to  be  stopped,  spark  arresters  must  also 
be  placed  on  ashpans  and  grate  openings.  The  escape  of  sparks  from 
grates  and  ashpans  can  be  prevented  by  the  use  of  wire  netting. 

In  conclusion,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  as  yet  no  spark  arrester 
is  in  use  which  will  absolutely  prevent  the  escape  of  all  live  sparks.  A 
very  large  proportion  of  railroad  fires,  however,  can  be  prevented  by 
their  use.  Railroads  should,  therefore,  either  be  required  to  put  in  and 
keep  in  good  repair  spark  arresters  and  screens  on  ashpans,  at  least 
through  the  dry  season,  or  else  they  should  patrol  or  assist  in  patrolling 
their  rights  of  way,  in  order  to  extinguish  incipient  fires. 


PUBLICATIONS 


OF  THE 

NORTH  CAROLINA  GEOLOGICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY. 


BULLETINS. 

1.  Iron  Ores  of  North  Carolina,  by  Henry  B.  C.  Nitze,  1893.  8°,  239  pp.,  20 
pi.,  and  map.  Out  of  print. 

2.  Building  and  Ornamental  Stones  in  North  Carolina,  by  T.  L.  Watson  and 

F.  B.  Laney  in  collaboration  with  George  P.  Merrill,  1906.  S°,  2S3  pp.,  32  pi., 

2 figs.  Postage  25  cents.  Cloth-bound  copy  SO  cents  extra. 

3.  Gold  Deposits  in  North  Carolina,  by  Henry  B.  C.  Nitze  and  George  B. 
Hanna,  1S96.  8°,  196  pp.,  14  pi.,  and  map.  Out  of  print. 

4.  Boad  Material  and  Road  Construction  in  North  Carolina,  by  J.  A.  Holmes 
and  William  Cain,  1893.  8°,  88  pp.  Out  of  print. 

5.  The  Forests,  Forest  Lands  and  Forest  Products  of  Eastern  North  Caro- 
lina, by  W.  W.  Ashe,  1894.  8°,  12S  pp.,  5 pi.  Postage  5 cents. 

6.  The  Timber  Trees  of  North  Carolina,  by  Gifford  Pinchot  and  W.  W.  Ashe, 
1897.  S°,  227  pp.,  22  pi.  Postage  10  cents. 

7.  Forest  Fires : Their  Destructive  Work,  Causes  and  Prevention,  by  W.  W. 

Ashe,  1895.  8°,  66  pp.,  1 pi.  Postage  5 cents. 

S.  Water-powers  in  North  Carolina,  by  George  F.  Swain,  Joseph  A.  Holmes 
and  E.  W.  Myers,  1899.  8°,  362  pp.,  16  pi.  Postage  16  cents. 

9.  Monazite  and  Monazite  Deposits  in  North  Carolina,  by  Henry  B.  C.  Nitze, 
1895.  S°,  47  pp.,  5 pi.  Out  of  print. 

10.  Gold  Mining  in  North  Carolina  and  other  Appalachian  States,  by  Henry 

B.  C.  Nitze  and  A.  J.  Wilkins,  1897.  8°,  164  pp.,  10  pi.  Out  of  print. 

11.  Corundum  and  the  Basic  Magnesian  Rocks  of  Western  North  Carolina, 
by  J.  Volney  Lewis,  1S95.  8°,  107  pp.,  6 pi.  Postage  If  cents. 

12.  History  of  the  Gems  Found  in  North  Carolina,  by  George  Frederick 
Kunz,  1907.  8°,  60  pp.,  15  pi.  Postage  8 cents.  Cloth-bound  copy  30  cents 
extra. 

13.  Clay  Deposits  and  Clay  Industries  in  North  Carolina,  by  Heinrich  Ries, 
1897.  8°,  157  pp.,  12  pi.  Postage  10  cents. 

14.  The  Cultivation  of  the  Diamond-back  Terrapin,  by  R.  E.  Coker,  1906. 
S°,  67  pp.,  23  pi.,  2 figs.  Out  of  print. 

15.  Experiments  in  Oyster  Culture  in  Pamlico  Sound,  North  Carolina,  by 
Robert  E.  Coker,  1907.  8°,  74  pp.,  17  pi.,  11  figs.  Postage  6 cents. 

16.  Shade  Trees  for  North  Carolina,  by  W.  W.  Ashe,  1908.  8°,  74  pp.,  10  pi., 
16  figs.  Postage  6 cents. 

17.  Terracing  of  Farm  Lands,  by  W.  W.  Ashe,  190S.  8°,  3S  pp.,  6 pi.,  2 figs. 
Postage  If  cents. 

18.  Bibliography  of  North  Carolina  Geology,  Mineralogy  and  Geography, 
with  a list  of  Maps,  by  Francis  Baker  Laney  and  Katherine  Hill  Wood,  1909. 
S°,  428  pp.  Postage  25  cents.  Cloth-bouncl  copy  SO  cents  extra. 

19.  The  Tin  Deposits  of  the  Carolinas,  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt  and  Douglas 
B.  Sterrett,  1905.  8°,  64  pp.,  8 figs.  Postage  If  cents. 

20.  Water-powers  of  North  Carolina : An  Appendix  to  Bulletin  8,  1910.  8°, 

3S3  pp.  Postage  25  cents. 

21.  The  Gold  Hill  Mining  District  of  North  Carolina,  by  Francis  Baker 
Laney,  1910.  8°,  137  pp.,  23  pi.,  5 figs.  Postage  15  cents. 

22.  A Report  on  the  Cid  Mining  District,  Davidson  County,  N.  C.,  by  J.  E. 
Pogue,  Jr.,  1911.  8°,  144  pp.,  22  pi.,  5 figs.  Postage  15  cents. 

23.  Forest  Conditions  in  Western  North  Carolina,  by  J.  S.  Holmes,  1911.  8°, 
115  pp.,  S pi.  Postage  15  cents. 


60 


PUBLICATIONS. 


ECONOMIC  PAPERS. 

1.  The  Maple-sugar  Industry  in  Western  North  Carolina,  by  W.  W.  Ashe, 
1897.  8°,  34  pp.  Postage  2 cents. 

2.  Recent  Road  Legislation  in  North  Carolina,  by  J.  A.  Holmes.  Out  of 
print. 

3.  Talc  and  Pyrophyllite  Deposits  in  North  Carolina,  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt, 
1900.  8°,  29  pp.,  2 maps.  Postage  2 cents. 

4.  The  Mining  Industry  in  North  Carolina  During  1900,  by  Joseph  Hyde 

Pratt,  1901.  8°,  36  pp.,  and  map.  Postage  2 cents. 

Takes  up  in  some  detail  Occurrences  of  Gold,  Silver,  Lead  and  Zinc,  Copper,  Iron, 
Manganese,  Corundum,  Granite,  Mica,  Talc,  Pyrophyllite,  Graphite,  Kaolin,  Gem 
Minerals,  Monazite,  Tungsten,  Building  Stones,  and  Coal  in  North  Carolina. 

5.  Road  Laws  of  North  Carolina,  by  J.  A.  Holmes.  Out  of  print. 

6.  The  Mining  Industry  in  North  Carolina  During  1901,  by  Joseph  Hyde 
Pratt,  1902.  8°,  102  pp.  Postage  4 cents. 

Gives  a List  of  Minerals  found  in  North  Carolina;  describes  the  Treatment  of  Sul- 
phuret  Gold  Ores,  giving  Localities;  takes  up  the  Occurrence  of  Copper  in  the  Vir- 
gilina,  Gold  Hill,  and  Ore  Knob  districts;  gives  Occurrence  and  Uses  of  Corundum; 
a List  of  Garnets,  describing  Localities;  the  Occurrence,  Associated  Minerals,  Uses 
and  Localities  of  Mica;  the  Occurrence  of  North  Carolina  Feldspar,  with  Analyses; 
an  extended  description  of  North  Carolina  Gems  and  Gem  Minerals;  Occurrences  of 
Monazite,  Barytes,  Ocher;  describes  and  gives  Occurrences  of  Graphite  and  Coal; 
describes  and  gives  Occurrences  of  Building  Stones,  including  Limestone;  describes 
and  gives  Uses  for  the  various  forms  of  Clay;  and  under  the  head  of  “Other 
Economic  Minerals”  describes  and  gives  Occurrences  of  Chromite,  Asbestos  and 
Zircon. 

7.  Mining  Industry  in  North  Carolina  During  1902,  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt, 
1903.  8°,  27  pp.  Postage  2 cents. 

8.  The  Mining  Industry  in  North  Carolina  During  1903,  by  Joseph  Hyde 

Pratt,  1904.  8°,  74  pp.  Postage  4 cents. 

Gives  descriptions  of  Mines  worked  for  Gold  in  1903;  descriptions  of  Properties 
worked  for  Copper  during  1903,  together  with  assay  of  ore  from  Twin-Edwards 
Mine;  Analyses  of  Limonite  ore  from  Wilson  Mine;  the  Occurrence  of  Tin;  in  some 
detail  the  Occurrences  of  Abrasives;  Occurrences  of  Monazite  and  Zircon;  Occur- 
rences and  Varieties  of  Graphite,  giving  Methods  of  Cleaning;  Occurrences  of 
Marble  and  other  forms  of  Limestone;  Analyses  of  Kaolin  from  Barber  Creek, 
Jackson  County,  North  Carolina. 

9.  The  Mining  Industry  in  North  Carolina  During  1904.  by  Joseph  Hyde 
Pratt,  1905.  8°,  95  pp.  Postage  4 cents. 

Gives  Mines  Producing  Gold  and  Silver  during  1903  and  1904  and  Sources  of  the 
Gold  Produced  during  1904;  describes  the  mineral  Chromite,  giving  Analyses  of 
Selected  Samples  of  Chromite  from  Mines  in  Yancey  County;  describes  Commercial 
Varieties  of  Mica,  giving  the  manner  in  which  it  occurs  in  North  Carolina,  Per- 
centage of  Mica  in  the  Dikes,  Methods  of  Mining,  Associated  Minerals.  Localities, 
Uses;  describes  the  mineral  Barytes,  giving  Method  of  Cleaning  and  Preparing 
Barytes  for  Market;  describes  the  use  of  Monazite  as  used  in  connection  with  the 
Preparation  of  the  Bunsen  Burner,  and  goes  into  the  use  of  Zircon  in  connection 
with  the  Nernst  Lamp,  giving  a List  of  the  Principal  Yttrium  Minerals;  describes 
the  minerals  containing  Corundum  Gems,  Hiddenite  and  Other  Gem  Minerals,  and 
gives  New  Occurrences  of  these  Gems;  describes  the  mineral  Graphite  and  gives 
new  Uses  for  same. 

10.  Oyster  Culture  in  North  Carolina,  by  Robert  E.  Coker,  1905.  S°,  39  pp. 
Out  of  print. 

11.  The  Mining  Industry  in  North  Carolina  During  1905,  by  Joseph  Hyde 
Pratt,  1906.  8°,  95  pp.  Postage  4 cents. 

Describes  the  mineral  Cobalt  and  the  principal  minerals  that  contain  Cobalt; 
Corundum  Localities;  Monazite  and  Zircon  in  considerable  detail,  giving  Analyses 
of  Thorianite;  describes  Tantalum  Minerals  and  gives  description  of  the  Tantalum 
Lamp;  gives  brief  description  of  Peat  Deposits;  the  manufacture  of  Sand-lime 
Brick:  Operations  of  Concentrating  Plant  in  Black  Sand  Investigations:  gives  Laws 
Relating  to  Mines,  Coal  Mines,  Mining,  Mineral  Interest  in  Land,  Phosphate  Rock. 
Marl  Beds. 

12.  Investigations  Relative  to  the  Shad  Fisheries  of  North  Carolina,  by  John 

N.  Cobb,  1906.  8°,  74  pp.,  8 maps.  Postage  6 cents. 

13.  Report  of  Committee  on  Fisheries  in  North  Carolina.  Compiled  by 
Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  1906.  8°,  7S  pp.  Out  of  print. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


61 


14.  The  Mining  Industry  in  North  Carolina  During  1906,  by  Joseph  Hyde 
Pratt,  1907.  S°,  144  pp.,  20  pi.,  and  5 figs.  Postage  10  cents. 

Under  the  head  of  “Recent  Changes  in  Gold  Mining  in  North  Carolina,”  gives 
methods  of  mining,  describing  Log  Washers,  Square  Sets,  Cyanide  Plants,  etc.,  and 
detailed  descriptions  of  Gold  Deposits  and  Mines  are  given;  Copper  Deposits  of 
Swain  County  are  described;  Mica  Deposits  of  Western  North  Carolina  are  de- 
scribed, giving  Distribution  and  General  Character,  General  Geology,  Occurrence, 
Associated  Minerals,  Mining  and  Treatment  of  Mica,  Origin,  together  with  a descrip- 
tion of  many  of  the  mines;  Monazite  is  taken  up  in  considerable  detail  as  to  Loca- 
tion and  Occurrence,  Geology,  including  classes  of  Rocks,  Age,  Associations,  Weath- 
ering, method  of  Mining  and  Cleaning,  description  of  Monazite  in  Original  Matrix. 

15.  The  Mining  Industry  in  North  Carolina  During  1907,  by  Joseph  Hyde 
Pratt,  1908.  8°,  176  pp.,  13  pi.,  and  4 figs.  Postage  15  cents. 

Takes  up  in  detail  the  Copper  of  the  Gold  Hill  Copper  District;  a description  of  the 
Uses  of  Monazite  and  its  Associated  Minerals;  descriptions  of  Ruby,  Emerald.  Beryl, 
Hiddenite,  and  Amethyst  Localities;  a detailed  description  with  Analyses  of  the 
Principal  Mineral  Springs  of  North  Carolina;  a description  of  the  Peat  Formations 
in  North  Carolina,  together  with  a detailed  account  of  the  Uses  of  Peat  and  the 
Results  of  an  Experiment  Conducted  by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  on 
Peat  from  Elizabeth  City,  North  Carolina. 

16.  Report  of  Convention  called  by  Governor  R.  B.  Glenn  to  Investigate  the 
Fishing  Industries  in  North  Carolina,  compiled  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State 
Geologist,  1908.  8°,  45  pp.  Postage  //  cents. 

17.  Proceedings  of  Drainage  Convention  held  at  New  Bern,  North  Carolina, 

September  9,  1908.  Compiled  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  190S.  8°,  94  pp.  Out  of 

print. 

18.  Proceedings  of  Second  Annual  Drainage  Convention  held  at  New  Bern, 

North  Carolina,  November  11  and  12,  1909,  compiled  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt, 
and  containing  North  Carolina  Drainage  Law,  1909.  S°,  50  pp.  Out  of  print. 

19.  Forest  Fires  in  North  Carolina  During  1909,  by  J.  S.  Holmes,  Forester, 

1910.  8°,  52  pp.,  9 pi.  Out  of  print. 

20.  Wood-using  Industries  of  North  Carolina,  by  Roger  E.  Simmons,  under 
the  direction  of  J.  S.  Holmes  and  H.  S.  Sackett,  1910.  8°,  74  pp.,  6 pi. 
Postage  7 cents. 

21.  Proceedings  of  the  Third  Annual  Drainage  Convention,  held  under 
Auspices  of  the  North  Carolina  Drainage  Association ; and  the  North  Carolina 
Drainage  Law  (codified).  Compiled  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  1911.  8°,  67  pp.. 
3 pi.  Out  of  print. 

22.  Forest  Fires  in  North  Carolina  During  1910,  by  J.  S.  Holmes,  Forester, 

1911.  8°,  48  pp.  Out  of  print. 

23.  Mining  Industry  in  North  Carolina  During  1908,  ’09,  and  ’10,  by  Joseph 
Hyde  Pratt  and  Miss  H.  M.  Berry,  1911.  8°,  134  pp.,  1 pi.,  27  figs.  Postage 
15  cents. 

Gives  report  on  Virgilina  Copper  District  of  North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  by  F. 
B.  Laney;  Detailed  report  on  Mica  Deposits  of  North  Carolina,  by  Douglas  B.  Ster- 
rett;  Detailed  report  on  Monazite,  by  Douglas  B.  Sterrett;  Reports  on  various  Gem 
Minerals,  by  Douglas  B.  Sterrett;  Information  and  Analyses  concerning  certain 
Mineral  Springs;  Extract  from  Chance  Report  of  the  Dan  River  and  Deep  River 
Coal  Fields;  Some  notes  on  the  Peat  Industry,  by  Professor  Charles  A.  Davis;  Ex- 
tract from  report  of  Arthur  Keith  on  the  Nantahala  Marble;  Description  of  the  man- 
ufacture of  Sand-lime  Brick. 

24.  Fishing  Industry  of  North  Carolina,  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  1911.  8°,  44 
pp.  Out  of  print. 

25.  Proceedings  of  Second  Annual  Convention  of  the  North  Carolina  For- 
estry Association,  held  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  February  21,  1912.  Forest 
Fires  in  North  Carolina  During  1911.  Suggested  Forestry  Legislation.  Com- 
piled by  J.  S.  Holmes,  Forester,  1912.  8°,  71  pp.  Postage  5 cents. 

26.  Proceedings  of  Fourth  Annual  Drainage  Convention,  held  at  Elizabeth 
City.  North  Carolina,  November  15  and  16,  1911,  compiled  by  Joseph  Hyde 
Pratt,  State  Geologist,  1912.  8°,  45  pp.  Postage  3 cents. 

27.  Highway  Work  in  North  Carolina,  containing  a Statistical  Report  of 

Road  Work  during  1911.  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist,  and  Miss 
II.  M.  Berry,  Secretary,  1912.  8°,  145  pp.,  11  figs.  Postage  10  cents. 


G2 


PUBLICATIONS. 


28.  Culverts  and  Small  Bridges  for  Country  Roads  in  North  Carolina,  by 
C.  R.  Thomas  and  T.  F.  Hickerson,  1912.  8°,  56  pp.,  14  figs.,  20  pi.  Postage 
10  cents. 

29.  Report  of  the  Fisheries  Convention  Held  at  New  Bern,  N.  C.,  December 
13,  1911,  compiled  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist,  together  with  a 
Compendium  of  the  Stenographic  Notes  of  the  Meetings  Held  on  the  Two  Trips 
taken  by  the  Legislative  Fish  Committee  Appointed  by  the  General  Assembly 
of  1909,  and  the  Legislation  Recommended  by  this  Committee,  1912.  8°,  302 
pp.  Postage  15  cents. 

30.  Proceedings  of  the  Annual  Convention  of  the  North  Carolina  Good 
Roads  Association  held  at  Charlotte,  N.  C.,  August  1 and  2,  1912,  in  Co- 
operation with  the  North  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey.  Com- 
piled by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist,  and  Miss  H.  M.  Berry,  Secretary, 
1912.  S°,  109  pp.  Postage  10  cents. 

31.  Proceedings  of  Fifth  Annual  Drainage  Convention  held  at  Raleigh, 
N.  C.,  November  26  and  27,  1912.  Compiled  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State 
Geologist.  8°,  56  pp.,  6 pi.  Postage  5 cents. 

32.  Public  Roads  are  Public  Necessities,  by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State 
Geologist,  1913.  8°,  62  pp.  Postage  5 cents. 

33.  Forest  Fires  in  North  Carolina  during  1912  and  National  and  Associa- 
tion Cooperative  Fire  Control,  by  J.  S.  Holmes,  Forester,  1913.  8°,  63  pp. 
Postage  5 cents. 

VOLUMES. 

Vol.  I.  Corundum  and  the  Basic  Magnesian  Rocks  in  Western  North  Caro- 
lina, by  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt  and  J.  Volney  Lewis,  1905.  8°,  464  pp.,  44  pi., 
35  figs.  Postage  32  cents.  Cloth-bound  copy  30  cents  extra. 

Yol.  II.  Fishes  of  North  Carolina,  by  IJ.  M.  Smith,  1907.  8°,  453  pp.,  21  pi., 

18S  figs.  Postage  30  cents. 

Yol.  III.  The  Coastal  Plain  of  North  Carolina,  by  Win.  Bullock  Clark,  Ben- 
jamin L.  Miller,  L.  IV.  Stephenson.  B.  L.  Johnson  and  Horatio  N.  Parker.  1912. 
8°,  509  pp.,  62  pi.,  21  figs.  Postage  35  cents. 

Pt.  I. — The  Physiography  and  Geology  of  the  Coastal  Plain  of  North  Caro- 
lina, by  Wm.  Bullock  Clark,  Benjamin  L.  Miller,  and  L.  W.  Stephenson. 

Pt.  II. — The  Water  Resources  of  the  Coastal  Plain  of  North  Carolina,  by  L. 
W.  Stephenson  and  B.  L.  Johnson. 

BIENNIAL  BEPORTS. 


First  Biennial  Report,  1S91-1S92,  J.  A.  Holmes,  State  Geologist,  1S93.  8°,  111 
pp.,  12  pi.,  2 figs.  Postage  6 cents. 


Administrative  report,  giving  Object  and  Organization  of  the  Survey;  Investiga- 
tions of  Iron  Ores,  Building  Stone,  Geological  Work  in  Coastal  Plain  Region,  in- 
cluding supplies  of  drinking-waters  in  eastern  counties.  Report  on  Forests  and 
Forest  Products,  Coal  and  Marble,  Investigations  of  Diamond  Drill. 


Biennial  Report,  1S93-1S94,  J.  A.  Holmes,  State  Geologist,  1S94. 
Postage  1 cent. 

Administrative  report. 

Biennial  Report,  1S95-1896,  J.  A.  Holmes,  State  Geologist,  1S96. 
Postage  1 cent. 

Administrative  report. 

Biennial  Report,  1S97-1S9S,  J.  A.  Holmes,  State  Geologist,  1S9S. 
Postage  2 cents. 

Administrative  report. 

Biennial  Report,  1S99-1900,  J.  A.  Holmes,  State  Geologist.  1900. 
Postage  2 cents. 

Administrative  report. 

Biennial  Report,  1901-1902,  J.  A.  Holmes,  State  Geologist.  1902. 
Postage  1 cent. 


S°,  15  pp. 
S°,  17  pp. 
S°,  2S  pp. 
S°,  20  pp. 
S°,  15  pp. 


Administrative  report. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


63 


Biennial  Report,  1903-1904,  J.  A.  Holmes,  State  Geologist,  1905.  S°,  32  pp. 
Postage  2 cents. 

Administrative  report. 

Biennial  Report,  1905-1906,  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist,  1907.  S°,  60 
pp.  Postage  3 cents. 

Administrative  report;  report  on  certain  swamp  lands  belonging  to  the  State,  by 
W.  W.  Ashe;  it  also  gives  certain  magnetic  observations  at  North  Carolina  stations. 

Biennial  Report,  1907-1908,  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist,  190S.  S°, 
60  pp.,  2 pi.  Postage  5 cents. 

Administrative  report.  Contains  Special  Report  on  an  examination  of  the  Sand 
Banks  along  the  North  Carolina  Coast,  by  Jay  F.  Bond,  Forest  Assistant,  United 
States  Forest  Service;  certain  magnetic  observations  at  North  Carolina  stations; 
Results  of  an  Investigation  Relating  to  Clam  Cultivation,  by  Howard  E.  Enders  of 
Purdue  University. 

Biennial  Report,  1909-1910,  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist,  1911.  S°, 

152  pp.  Postage  10  cents. 

Administrative  report,  and  contains  Agreements  for  Co-operation  in  Statistical 
Work,  and  Topographical  and  Traverse  Mapping  Work  with  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey;  Forest  Work  with  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
(Forest  Service);  List  of  Topographic  maps  of  North  Carolina  and  counties  partly 
or  wholly  topographically  mapped;  description  of  special  Highways  in  North  Caro- 
lina; suggested  Road  Legislation;  list  of  Drainage  Districts  and  Results  of  Third 
Annual  Drainage  Convention;  Forestry  reports  relating  to  Connolly  Tract,  Buncombe 
County  and  Transylvania  County  State  Farms;  certain  Watersheds;  Reforestation 
of  Cut-over  and  Abandoned  Farm  Lands  on  the  Woodlands  of  the  Salem  Academy 
and  College;  Recommendations  for  the  Artificial  Regeneration  of  Longleaf  Pine  at 
Pinehurst;  Act  regulating  the  use  of  and  for  the  Protection  of  Meridian  Monu- 
ments and  Standards  of  Measure  at  the  several  county-seats  in  North  Carolina; 
list  of  Magnetic  Declination  at  the  county-seats,  January  1,  1910;  letter  of  Fish 
Commissioner  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries  relating  to  the  conditions  of 
the  North  Carolina  fish  industries;  report  of  the  Survey  for  the  North  Carolina 
Fish  Commission  referring  to  dutch  or  pound-net  fishing  in  Albemarle  and  Croatan 
sounds  and  Chowan  River,  by  Gilbert  T.  Rude,  of  the  United  States  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey;  Historical  Sketch  of  the  several  North  Carolina  Geological  Sur- 
veys, with  list  of  publications  of  each. 

Biennial  Report,  1911-1912,  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist,  1913.  S°, 

11S  pp.  Postage  7 cents. 


Samples  of  any  mineral  found  in  the  State  may  be  sent  to  the  office  of  the 
Geological  and  Economic  Survey  for  identification,  and  the  same  will  be  clas- 
sified free  of  charge.  It  must  he  understood,  however,  that  no  assays  or 
quantitative  determinations  will  be  made.  Samples  should  be  in  a lump 
form  if  possible,  and  marked  plainly  on  outside  of  package  with  name  of 
sender,  post-office  address,  etc. ; a letter  should  accompany  sample  and  stamp 
should  be  enclosed  for  reply. 


These  publications  are  mailed  to  libraries  and  to  individuals  who  may 
desire  information  ou  any  of  the  special  subjects  named,  free  of  charge,  except 
that  in  each  case  applicants  for  the  reports  should  forward  the  amount  of 
postage  needed,  as  indicated  above,  for  mailing  the  bulletins  desired,  to  the 
State  Geologist,  Chapel  Hill,  A.  C. 


Date  Due 


Form  335— 40M— 6-39— S 

S*3  H87S  46389 

mic_Su^ 


5E3  N873  no. 33  43389 


XS9U86£0a 


